SirAndrew

You are correct, our offense has improved in the area of turnovers, and limiting three and outs in opponent territory. That was a major issue in the first few games this season. I just want to see them begin to put some points on the board. Back in September, I really thought it’d all come together by this point in this season. Sadly, that has yet to happen.

I don’t think the turnover issue is a major crisis. That’s just how defensive football works. Turnovers are somewhat beyond the complete control of players. It takes special circumstances, and a combination of talent and luck to create turnovers. I think if you looked at historical stats of defensive teams, you might see major ups and downs of turnover rankings.

Yeah, it’s probably just a matter of philosophy. Personally, I think when you hold an opponent under 20 points, you should win football games. It’s up to the offense to figure out how to score 20. Anything else is their failure, and they need to own it imo. Takeaways come and go, even for the best defensive teams. They cannot be counted on for a team to score points. That’s the job of the offense, and our defense is still good. We’re not the 2000 Ravens or 85 Bears, but a competent offense would make us a Super Bowl contender.

I get your point for sure, I’m just saying we’re still the third ranked defense in the NFL. How much more can you ask ? I’d love more big plays, and to see them demonstrate the ability to be clutch. Our defense certainly didn’t perform in the clutch yesterday, but it would take a few more bad games before I begin to see them as an issue. Great point. Our offense constantly puts those guys in bad spots.

Exactly, we have the number three ranked scoring and yards allowed defense. Sure, I’d like our D to make more big plays, but that’s nit picking imo. Scoring plays and the like on defense are often a result of random circumstance. Holding the opponent to less than 20 points a game is all you could ask from a defense.

I get your second point, but you need an offense to be a contender these days. The 85 Bears wouldn’t cut it in today’s NFL without a decent offense. Our defensive weak spot has been forcing turnovers and creating big plays, so to that point I agree. However, even San Francisco scored 10 points before the Seattle D put points on the board. 10 points against us is almost too much for our D to give up. Imo, that’s why our offense has been all the talk.

I agree, and we do need help at receiver. However, beyond each teams top two receivers not many have stars, you just have depth guys. Quality depth guys at those positions can be found in the draft. That’s on Beane for not addressing the issue.

The modern NFL is all about offensive scheming and QB play. Right now, our OC is terrible, and our QB is erratic. That’s not how you win games. Star power isn’t the issue. That’s the issue.

This is where I’m at. I’ve been an Allen supporter, last season he looked like he possessed something special that other failed Bills QB’s didn’t have. He was a raw prospect who had the ability to become elite in the future. Allen has not progressed as much as I’d like this season. For some reason no matter what happens this season, I’m not ready to move on from him quickly like I was with Edwards, Losman, etc. I simply want to see him with a new OC before I give up. Daboll is a failed NFL OC who should have never been recycled.

I’m very confused how any “process” could include a player like Lee Smith. I was a big Allen guy last season, and going into this year. I haven’t seen the progress that so many speak of. Even more concerning is the fact that he doesn’t play smart football. It’s tough to win with a QB like that these days.

Why don’t we beat the Browns, Fish, and Cowboys? Then let’s get worked up about disrespect.

I can’t believe how many fans keep showing up for that team who’s leaving town next year.

Mathematically you are obviously correct, but sometimes I look at it differently. I almost like the idea of the Raiders winning to send the Chargers further down in the loss column with 6 losses. The possibility of the Chargers getting hot and going on a long winning streak worries me more than the Raiders doing the same. The Chargers can beat any team in the league, while I’m not sure the Raiders can. I still think KC definitely wins the West, so both of these teams are just wild card contenders.

Media, Rivers is constantly referred to as a future HOFer by the talking heads, while Wilson doesn’t get that same credit.

Fair enough, but it’s funny how that works. Rivers has been throwing terrible picks for years that prevent his team from even getting that far, yet somehow he constantly seems ranked above a guy like Wilson.

Always felt the same, I don’t think he seems like a bad dude though, just comes across as not being the brightest crayon in the box.

I’ll never understand how it’s taken so long for a guy like Russell Wilson to get credit for being a great QB while Rivers has been universally accepted as being great. Numbers are often too highly analyzed these days.

Isn’t ones opinion of play calling very subjective though? Regardless of whether or not a guy is a former player, it’s really a matter of opinion. At the end of the day, results are all that matters. Right now the Bills offense is not good. Personally, I don’t put much concern into what fans or former players think about these matters. Results are what matters, and Daboll/Allen have a lot to prove. It doesn’t help much when opinions also might have personal bias. Anderson could have liked Daboll a lot as a person, so he isn’t going to say the guy stinks as an OC, I’ll let his track record speak for itself.

I’m not intelligent enough to understand. On a serious note, I know what you mean by the game being in hand, but usually teams come out of the gate running their normal offense in regular season games. I don’t understand what Daboll is hiding, please englighten the ignorant. The Pats and Brady have run an offensive scheme that has worked for years. They don’t need to hide what they are.

I’ve heard that theory before, but common sense makes me question the validity. What are we saving our “secret” offense for? Are we waiting for the Super Bowl? I mean, an NFL team needs to run their offense, and learn how to play in it. “Hiding” an offense just doesn’t make much sense to me. I understand that during the preseason, but that doesn’t make sense during the regular season imo.

Great points, and I’m guilty of blaming OC’s and DC’s in the past. I’m simply skeptical about Daboll because his previous body of work is less than stellar, and he makes too many mind numbing decisions without running an offense with an identity. I do agree that players need to improve, and Allen has yet to prove he’s the guy.

Exactly, I don’t claim to completely understand the intricacies of an NFL offense, but I’m simply left in shock too often over random play calling that defies all logic. As Bills fans, we’ve all seen plenty of bad football with teams that lack talent. I’ve seen teams that can’t score points, but I didn’t spend half the game wondering why such a play ever happened in the first place. It’s becoming difficult to grade what we have on offense because of it, and Allen’s growth is also tough to gage.

This^ McKenzie serves no purpose outside of the run game. Duke has the ability to be a legitimate receiver. McKenzie is nothing more than a gadget player who is used by Daboll in the same manner every game. It’s not like the defense doesn’t know what to expect when McKenzie is on the field.

I agree in part. That is a large factor in the conservative nature of the offense. However, it doesn’t explain the lack of identity, or ridiculous play calling decisions. Daboll has a tendency of trying to outsmart himself. I saw his philosophy compared to Mike Martz on this forum by others, and I agree. He’s over complicating things, as opposed to doing what makes sense. He called a better game on Sunday, but there were still some ludicrous red zone play calls. The type of calls that result in losses against better opponents.

Yep, I love me some red zone jet sweeps.