PBF81

We're hardly the only team with significant injuries. People talk about Jones like he was a perennial pro-bowler, which is far from the case. He's never distiniguished himself apart from the first few games of this season, whereupon some Bills fans have prematurely turned him into some kind of a legend. It's remarkable. Milano was an enormous loss, but any monkey should have been able to see that if he went down that the LB unit would be in a world of hurt, which it is. That's on Beane whether people want to accept that or not. White was gone most of last season and when he was on the field he wasn't good. So let's not extrapolate that there's a big difference between last season and this one in that regard. Otherwise, all teams have injuries, the fact that we don't have adequate depth to overcome them is a Beane problem. We're hardly the first team to have to play effectively through those. It would help if the offense played up to its capabilities however. Playing "not as well as you did" is one thing. Playing like we have today and last week, against garbage QBs with few weapons, and on the most futile offensive teams in the league is altogether another.

The pattern has been the Dorsey addresses one or two shortcomings at a time. That's why Kincaid was involved today. But he fails to be able to put it all together in an ongoing basis. As to the defense, I'm not quite sure why everyone is so surprised, McD's Ds as DC for six seasons were generally incredibly average, which is about what we have now. It wasn't wise to think that all of a sudden and for no reason here, he'd be a top-notch DC. And some may consider it great that he's got this "swarming" chaotic defense that's predicated upon overwhelming opposing offenses, but Mike Caldwell for Jax figured it out and how to defeat it. Since then the Giants and Pats have taken notes. What happens when we face even Tampa this week much less Philly, Miami again, the Chiefs, Chargers, Dallas, and Bengals? We need a GM that's committed to protecting Allen, providing a pocket, opening running lanes, and a head coach that's not ignorant as to offensive things and more committed to getting world-class play from Allen than he is about having a "swarming D." Until that changes ...

Many people don't seem to understand that you simply cannot have your entire D playing like a bunch of possessed banshees week in and week out. It's exhausting. McD seems to think that they're all machines & robots. We were getting all giddy at our sack and pass-rush tallies, it should have served as a warning that, for example, Floyd was on pace for 18 sacks, which obviously was never going to be realized. Jones was never going to play at the level he was playing at all season either. Nor AJE. And it was great early on against Wilson, Garropalo, and Howell, and for one get-up game against Miami, at home for our biggest game at the time, but the typical fast start has run its course. We're seeing what's left in the tank. It'll rebound somewhat from the crap it was today, but not to the levels of the first four games, at least not over any significant sustained period of time. Apart from the fact that over the past three seasons we've started really hot and then cooled off, this maniacally and frenetically orchestrated D simply isn't tenable over the course of an entire season. It sounds great on paper, but McD isn't the one that has to be up to insane levels every week, the players are.

LOL @ the Chandler Jones reference. I'm not a fan of expensive signings of players that are near or at the tail end of their careers, such that the signing has to have every upside of it to materialize in order for it to be considered a good signing. With better planning and team management that should easily be capable of being avoided.

Both the Pats as a team as well as Jones posted their best offensive games of the season today. Inexcusable.

That's what happens when you hire a "defensive-minded head coach" that has no idea about offense.

You forgot Ignore the Offensive Line.

My position's been unchanged since we signed him. My money says that he's finished as anything but JAG. But for the money he's getting, there's absolutely no way we get that level of play from him.

It was high-risk/high-reward. Unfortunatelyh we've seen the risk side play out. But again, at the time we had no proven pass-rushers on the team, so Beane had to resort to the risky signing, or something. That's on him.

At 35, which he'll be in a few months, it's an uphill battle. Even if he does, perfectly, which is highly unlikely, he'll be a shell of his former self due to aging out.

He's young, almost only 35. He'll come around eventually. 🙄

Who knows, but pity the fool that thinks we can go 10-0 or 9-1 from here on out. At this rate we'll be fortunate to hit 11 wins, 9 or 10 wins more likely. What should be more concerning is the ongoing superficial or otherwise seeming unaccountability for the pathetic state of our play when it happens. 2-3 in conference play 1-2 in the division SMH

Also, two of our wins have been against two of the worst teams in the league, one barely. We could very easily have been and probably should have been 3-4 right now. But so have two of our losses been against two of the worst teams in the league.

If only most of 'em weren't against top teams in the league, all but one on the road, and two that we've already lost to. A "culture of winning" failure?

That's fine, but losing to them while allowing them their best game of the season is inexcusable.

But that's McD's general philosophy, and that's why we have the players we have, it's all designed around rushing the passer and generating pressure in the passing game. Hence our pass-D oriented alignments, often featuring 2 LBs, and the seeming lack of interest in a bona fide MLB. Our defense is laden with players that excel in pass-D, to the extent that they excel in anything. Between Jax and now BB, this D has been exposed, and it's unwise to hold out hope that we have the talent to change it at this point. McBeane made their decisions, now it's time to prove that they're sound. So far it's not working out so well this season, unless we play sack-prone QBs and/or poor passers. Generally speaking that is.

This team's going to get killed this week in the media, local/friendly as well as national. Fortunately the McD question is beginning to get some traction, as it should.

It's not so much the simple loss, but the way in which we lost. Third game in a row where we came in clearly unprepared. Presumably that jet-lag has worn off. If someone were to merely look at the box score without names, they could easily think that this game happened during the Brady years. I have no idea what the excuses are going to be. Yeah yeah, we know, they "have to do better." This loss was angering.

I guess that answers our question for the day.

Gonna suck to be a Bills fan in Boston this week.

This ain't Daboll & Taylor.

The team proctologist earning his money!!

Finally!

It's definitely pause for concern. Even those teams can have a bad week tho.