WideNine

I have mixed feelings with Kroft, when they actually threw to him he caught the balls, but TEs are notoriously underutilized in our offensive game plans as downfield targets. Even Knox we should be trying to use a lot more to move the chains, but Allen's focus tends to lean towards his WRs.

I know right. Poyer still has more in the tank and was one of the few reliable pieces to a decimated secondary last season. Even played through his injury. Glad to have him back.

Well said. Many here wanted to see a guy who could quickly diagnose a play, hit the right gap, shed blocks, and be a thumper. Nope. Tremaine was more of a lanky safety that could cover a lot of ground, get in the way of passes, and prevent 5 yard plays from turning into 15-20 yard plays. He was very good at reading and reacting to a QBs eyes, but guys like Mahomes could use their eyes to work him like a joystick to free up space in the secondary. Good QBs we run into down the stretch can do that well. This defense missed him when he was not on the field, but not enough that it would justify taking on a crippling salary. We did not see the TFLs, the INTs, the FFs one would hope to see, but some of that was scheme, some just the way Tremaine played. I felt he had improved each year, but the problem with drafting a player high for their upside, and investing years to realize that potential, is that the player simply cashes out once they turn the corner. Not blaming him, it was the obvious move for Edmunds.

I have seen decades of teams with deep pockets that make big splashes in free agency. Athough headline grabbing, it does not equate to a well run org going to the big show. We will see how this plays out.

Could be exactly what it looks like. Frazier just needs time away from the game to let the batteries recharge. We can all agree that last season was just a very tough season. It was tough logistically, AFC East was more competitive, lofty expectations, and emotional roller coaster with injuries on that side of the ball and then the fallout from the flat outing against the Bengals. Other coaches take sabbaticals to sit in broadcast booths and be guest analysts, I would not be surprised if Frazier really just needs some time away from the game. On the flip side, it would not go well if Frazier had been retained for another season and he did not have the juice for what the team was going to need.

Both sides laid an egg in that Bengals game, so arguing about who gets the "sucks most award" is a bit fruitless. BUT, on offense you had Allen whose elbow was still an issue; If not directly affecting throws, it impacted his ability to get the reps he needed in practice. And you had a first year coordinator in Dorsey who had his moments and challenges. So I can buy that we did not see the offenses best stuff, not sure I can say the same about our D with the years of Frazier continuity as well as the draft and FA investments. Granted, we had a slew of injuries and that cannot be factored out. So we need some better karma this next season for sure. I am just looking forward to some fresh perspective and energy that someone else may be able to bring to that side of the ball. Not hating on Frazier, just ready for a change.

We have fielded some very competitive defenses, particularly when Frazier had everyone healthy. I do feel like there are times you need to shake things up particularly when our defenses have come up so small in so many playoff games against top-tier offenses. I won't paint all of Frazier's contributions to the Bills with just that one negative brush - he has been good for us, BUT we have to figure out how our defense can be more competitive in those playoff games to be able to get past the Bengals and the Chiefs. At the end of the day, that has got to be the focus of OBD leadership.

Oliver is undersized as a DT, even as a 3T. At the time he was drafted the Bills brass overlooked some of the classic measurables for defensive tackle and were kind of star-struck by the athleticism, but there were some warning signs of where Oliver landed and whether he could overcome those measurables that scouts look for in most DTs: Height 6' 1⅞" 10th percentile Weight 287 lbs. 52nd percentile Wingspan 77 ⅜" 14th percentile Arm Length 31 ¾" 7th percentile Hand Size 9 ¼" 10th percentile It is less about the DE's in the rotation with Oliver and more about the DT that is playing the 1 tech next to him. If that guy forces teams to pay attention to him and forces the double-teams and can get some push while he is at it, Oliver can be disruptive. He does a good job 1:1 against most interior linemen. He can beat them with his speed off the snap, his athleticism, and great leverage. If teams can handle our 1-tech then Oliver gets pushed around and swallowed up by the double-teams - he is basically nullified. That is why we tend to see games where he disappears - you have to look at who is playing next to him and how well that guy is doing. Oliver shined best last season with Jones playing next to him being disruptive from that 1-tech spot, but that is probably not what the Bills envisioned when they selected him #9 overall. They thought they were getting a guy who could be a difference maker on a more consistent basis. Oliver is a good player mind you, but he will always be measured for being a top 10 pick.

I have a few comments on this. Allen's injury made short to intermediate throws more difficult to make as the way the injured elbow has to flex and the angles needed are more stressed with those throws than deeper ones (locked on Bills has a good pod cast on this with a guest speaker doctor). However, even before the injury defenses were starting to pick up on tendencies and dial into how Allen likes to extend plays rolling to the right in the red zone where it seemed that they had come up with some different pressure and robber concepts to bait throws into uncharacteristic INTs. We saw less turnovers in the red zone down the stretch so perhaps Allen and Dorsey were able to diagnose those things and come up with workarounds. If someone has a good link to a breakdown of those turnovers I would love to see those. I just remembered Allen looking very bewildered and that usually happens when a defender peals away from an expected zone and drifts over to make that INT - where a QB just loses track of defenders after the pre-snap reads. Too many of Dorsey's calls seemed to lean into lower percentage downfield throws, particularly in places in games where a sustained drive was really needed to spell the defense and develop some offensive rhythm. We have pass-catching RBs, Knox, and some slot options we needed to use more. Upgrading the OL will help, but we need a run game identity that lends itself to the blocking up front that the coaches determine we can do with some higher degree of success, and the personnel packages for those runs that allow for successful play action passes. We have some good speed and shiftiness back there now, but a bruiser between the tackles in the mold of a Raheem Mostert would be great down the stretch with a lead in games. On defense I feel like we lack some creativity and aggression on that side of the ball, we have coaches that are great with working out of defensive systems that are likely easy to teach and minimize risks. That will work against most QBs, but down the stretch against elite QBs you have to be willing to go after them, jam receivers at the line and challenge routes - you cannot sit back and wait. With that in mind, we also cannot ignore our lack of size on the DL, when Jones went down against the Bengals our DL got pushed around and they made it look EASY and they were able to run at will. This took a lot of pressure off their passing game. This defense does not work period without interior DL players that have the size and strength needed to successfully anchor or get push against double-teams to both collapse the pocket, and redirect and/or stuff the runs.

Philly too, although in fairness I would not be focused on offense and OL help if I had Philly's OL. It is not unique to the Bills to use early draft capital on defense, but striking out with those high end defensive picks where you have mainly found rotational talent or players that may be on a 4-5 year learning curve before they peak is not going to cut it. High draft needs to equate to higher impact quickly while those guys are on cheap rookie deals. Only OL investment I recall in the early rounds was Ford and we know how that went. Needs to be better when trading up like that. Jury is still out on Brown and Doyle.

Diggs could have likely worded that better, but that is the danger of ever talking to the media. We can take one flip comment and make it grow hair and teeth. The Vikings got a very good OC as a HC and I am sure that helped their offensive production. That is not to say that ALL OCs make great HCs, the pedestrian ones usually pan out the way you would expect. And most OCs are not offensive gurus or the next Andy Reid, even guys like Kliff Kingsbury who was fired from AZ after being given a ridiculous contract extension. Poor Kliff, he left AZ and their pouting QB behind with a crap ton of money for an extended vacation in Thailand with his GF so.... his loss right?

Maybe hope is a strategy... as long as hope leads to: Better and more consistent pass protection and run blocking from our O-line. More play-action worked into the play designs because Allen is much better off of play action. A run game that looks like part of the game plan rather than an afterthought. One that can bleed the clock, spell our D, and protect a lead late in games. Josh making quicker decisions with the ball and hitting more high-percentage throws to his hot reads and outlet options in the flat when deeper throws are covered. Less turnovers and the big guy taking less hits. Some consistency out of the slot position and a WR on the boundary that can take some of the pressure off Diggs. Saying "Dorsey sucks" from my couch seems a bit oversimplified, but an OC ultimately owns those challenges next year. I hope Dorsey does blow the doors off it next year. I don't want to see our coaches fail, quite the opposite.

I think you are right about the Eagles competition on the road to the SB. These AFC teams and especially the Chiefs are on another level and force you to play them down to the wire... even if there is only 13 ticks left on the clock. Pretty impressive for an Eagles squad with relatively new QB and coaching nonetheless. They made some mistakes that were pretty costly and that is what happens with QBs (and teams) that have not been there done that already.

They did that and whiffed on Ford. We do not have the luxury of too many of those kind of misses. Harsh on Beane and his staff that are doing their best I know, but it is where we are at as a team. Got to nail those early picks.

I don't mind OBD giving Frazier support... the path the Chiefs took did involve a defensive game plan that did a good job of bottling up the Bengals. But our offense was a shell of itself in our playoff game against the Bengals, and was inconsistent throughout the season. Beefing up the support and weapons around Allen would not hurt.

I can live with that, and perhaps that is where we agree.

It is an interesting phenomena and I would blame millienials because that is why they exist BUT older fans seem to be chiming in as well about an inability to endure critical dialogue ... it is a bit mind blowing on a board because you literally can ignore posts or certain posters if they rub you the wrong way. Sure there are folks that just want to B-word and offer little else, ignore it or join in if you just want to vent. That is literally why folks are drawn to places to chat about their teams. I like to look at player, coach, game, and draft planning, performance, and comparisons and don't mind saying this or that needs to be better, and like to find threads where folks can agree or disagree on those things. I have no issues saying this player is a great person and locker room presence, but I wish he did this better on the field. I think both can be true. Of course I appreciate how many wins the Bills were able to scrape together and if that was the point of each season I guess I would walk away fairly satisfied, BUT if the goal is to position this team to win a championship I feel like we may have reached a point where we are spinning our wheels a bit as a franchise.

Joe with Locked Down is my hands-down favorite. Always feel in sync with his analysis. Cover1 I like the play concept breakdowns, but their discussions about the org and/or steps needed to improve the team are meh. One Bills Live I like listening to Cosell.

This is a reasonable take. Giving Frazier the boot after a string of playoff embarrassments is just not how this team operates. However, if OBD has come to the conclusion that some changes are needed, then this is the kind of first step they would make. It will be interesting to see how much Frazier is willing to give up - doubt we will know, but game planning has to be better, player prep better, and game day adjustments quicker.

He is coming back I expect. System coaches can be successful if they have all the pieces they need for the system to work. Just have to hope we have all the right pieces and they can stay healthy for a season. Not holding out a lot of hope he will have his unit ready for playoff-caliber teams (if we make the post season). I would pin my hopes on being able to outscore playoff opponents, but can't say I have seen enough from Dorsey to justify that hope. But we will see... a lot of teams look great or terrible on paper in the offseason and you just don't know till they strap on the gear and play. Cautiously pessimistic.

Not sure where he pulls his data from, but it was a reference to when he has a clean pocket. No indication of how small the sample size was. Apparently the few times he did his completion percentage dropped. Perhaps something lost in the translation, here's the link to the podcast worth a listen. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vUFBZNDkwNDU5ODc2Nw/episode/YmU3YTUxNDAtYTA1YS0xMWVkLTlhOTUtOGYyMmRhYTg1ODU2?ep=14

That's where I am at. I think Schmidt, if he is the best OL and C in the draft, is where you put your chips. I think that kid would be a great fit. Not sure if he is a reach if he is the best one available at a position of need and pegged to go at the top of the 2nd round...

There is a balance. There is no reason to throw a low percentage go-route into coverage downfield when you have run-after-the-catch options open on your doorstep. And yes our receivers were getting the snot beat out of them 2-seasons ago - I recall particularly in that KC game because KC's DC said lets play off their receivers and get physical with them on those hooks and short crossers you mentioned. They wanted to see if they could create turnovers, force incompletions, or get our guys a bit reluctant to run those routes knowing they could catch it, but were going to pay a price. The results were mixed, but our receivers did take a pounding - particularly Diggs and Beasley. The deep threat is still there and this year Allen certainly made teams pay if they did not keep safeties over the top or if someone screwed up in deep coverage. His deep shots had more anticipation and accuracy with regards to receivers being able to keep running full out to the ball. But our most consistent threat is Diggs and teams are drifting further back, rolling coverage over Diggs. For this offense to hum, we do need a legit WR2 at the other boundary, a sure-handed slot option to exploit soft spots in the zones that Allen can build up a good repore with, BUT we need to get Allen to take the high-percentage checkdowns to our players who now have the right skillset to make that first guy miss, avoid a beating, and also make teams pay for not covering the flat with good RAC yards. Hines (if they retain him) and Cook should fit that mold perfectly. 2 points you made that are also spot on: 1. Poor pass-pro technique allows more DL players to time/jump/tip quick passes at the LOS. Back in the Jurassic days OL coaches would teach their OL players to load up, get their hands into the chest of the DL player, and give them a good thump/shove when they try to time their jump and get their hands up to block a pass. More often than not DL players would end up on their can. Being successful at hitting the hot reads and making teams pay, requires the offensive line, Allen, and his check down options to all be on schedule and on the same page when teams are sending the extra rusher where a hot route and pass are needed. Execution and timing of all those elements has to be a hell of a lot better than we have seen this past season. Allen's off schedule preferences/tendencies (quicker decisions and passes), poorly run hot routes, and the tendency of immediate jail breaks and pressures given up by erratic protection schemes or individual execution lapses have to be corrected before we can even get to scheming these up better. 2. Your players that are your key hot read check down options have to be sure-handed pass catchers. Allen throws to Diggs because he has an amazing catch radius and hands. Nothing will give a QB the yips faster and lead him to holding the ball and poor decisions than when his hot-reads and checkdowns are dropping passes and are no longer the safety outlet he needs.

The moral of the story is that when teams bring extra pressure, they bank on Allen holding the ball too long and not taking his quick hot reads and dump offs. They drop and stack defenders at and behind the sticks because they know that is where his eyes tend to go when he holds the ball. Getting the ball out more quickly and knowing where to go with it underneath when pressured is an area Josh needs to improve to take the next step in his game. Bombs away with deep lobs are great, but successful teams and QBs know how to balance their game by taking what defenses are giving them too. Folks get their undees in a bunch if any critique goes Allen's way, but does anyone think that Allen watches his tape of that game and comes away thinking, "Yeah, I made great decisions with the ball."? I doubt it. If he is a real competitor, he will want to fix those things.