Brand J

I didn’t get that sense at all listening to both pressers.

Especially when the same game plan was looking shoddy only a few weeks prior, but no, let’s not try to emulate anything the Ravens did to slow down Burrow. Off coverage in nickel will get it done!

The reporter was certainly correct in that neither Beane nor McD seemed overly concerned or bothered by Frazier’s “request” for time off. Beane hedged when asked if he’d be back with the team next season. Add in the fact that McD was non-committal about both coordinators returning in 2023 and I think it’s clear to see he was pushed out rather than just wanting time away. We as fans will never get the full story, of course. Neither will the media or the players on the team. The full reasons for his exodus will be as secretive and off-limits as the “13 seconds” debacle.

At the beginning of the year, this team chose to throw $13M/yr at Dawson Knox rather than save that money to put it towards Edmunds next contract. I thought that was pretty telling that he wasn’t coming back, as well as who the organization valued more at that price point.

Also didn’t get the feeling that Beane would want him back next season.

MIN was number 1, they scored at least an A- in all categories.

Some in here get the point, while others contradict themselves defending Frazier. I said it after the season ended - I’d be surprised if he was back with the Bills. Didn’t know how it’d happen, only that it would. Surprise, surprise.

Goodell makes more money than any player in the league. I don’t like how he’s handled refereeing, saying it’s the best it’s ever been. He’s done well to expand the game globally, which puts more money in owners’ pockets, so that’s why he’s loved. I think a perfect mix of on-field play would be between Goodell’s league (soft) and Tagliabue’s (violent). Wouldn’t mind if Goodell was shown the door.

Wasn’t Beane asked point blank if Leslie wasn’t stepping away would he be back as DC? And then Beane confirmed? I wouldn’t expect for that to go any other way. They can tell the media what they want, but the only people who know the entire truth are those who were in on the meeting (Beane/Frazier/McD/Pegula). You can take it at face value, that’s fine, but I wouldn’t accept it as 100% truth.

A demotion to secondary coach or the like very well could’ve been on the table. I would’ve been surprised if the Bills went into 2023 with Leslie Frazier as DC, so this news is not at all surprising to me, however it went down.

To me it isn’t even about his inability to slow down Mahomes and Burrow, there aren’t many teams who can. I mean, you’d like more resistance than tissue paper, sure, but I didn’t think it defined Frazier necessarily. When I think about his tenure, I think back to the Houston game on that 3rd and 18, when the players were lined up so far back that they weren’t in position to make a stop after the ball was thrown 8 yards. I think about the second half collapse against Indy as well. He’s almost always had a plan for Lamar Jackson, so I will most definitely give him his flowers there. But his conservative approach has shown to backfire time and time again but it’s all he knows, so he can do no different when the chips are on the table. Again, it was time for a change.

My definition of “good” is quite different from yours. You can put together the regular season stats that hoist Frazier on a pedestal, but the playoffs is where it counts. There’s more middling to bad teams we’ll face in the regular season than there are in the playoffs. When going against good offenses we’ve seen the result. Not over a year, not over 2 years, not even over 3. It was time for a change.

Coaches also have to put players in the best position to make said plays. Go ahead and disagree with or eyeroll this rebuttal as well. 🙄

The defense with or without Frazier was going to take a step back next season regardless. At least on paper. If they perform better than they have thus far in the postseason - which is all most of us are asking/hoping for - it’ll be condemning for Frazier.

Wouldn’t expect him to say otherwise. It’s akin to asking “was this decision entirely Frazier’s?” Of course the Bills (and Beane) are going to say yes, even if it wasn’t.

Ok so all of them. Yeah, I suppose the consistent failure would take a mental toll.

Which year?

After listening to Beane’s presser, I think you all can put to rest the health speculations. It was clear to me this decision was made in the best interest of the Bills - even though they’re painting it as “Frazier wants time off.” The team wants to go in a different direction and Beane didn’t rule out McD calling the plays; which is exactly what I said should happen before all this went down.

“Classy” and “likable” mean nothing in sports if the job isn’t getting done. It’s a cutthroat industry, all that matters is results. If Frazier was a total d*ck, but called a defense that played above the talent he had on the field. No one would care. McD has now parted ways with both of his initial coordinators. Our HC is classy and likable as well, but if the Bills don’t show progress, guess who’s next on the chopping block?

“Great” could describe his regular season accolades, “average to poor” could describe his postseason failures. If the bolded were true in terms of the entirety of his stay, I’d surmise he wouldn’t be taking a year off.

And that’s why 13 seconds was a microcosm of Frazier’s playoff woes. You can argue the defensive talent all you want, but when the talent isn’t put in position to be successful - like 13 seconds - you have a schematic issue.

Funny. Though I think Beane is at fault for some of his defensive draft choices, I think you’re giving Frazier too much credit. It’s his job to coach up and maximize the players’ talents. I see none of that in Buffalo, only the same stale cover 2 plug and play scheme he rolls out each game.

Injuries certainly played a role as to why they weren’t as strong as they were earlier in the year, but something was off mentally as well - and that was before the Damar Hamlin incident. They just didn’t look the same, didn’t have the same fire. They were decently healthy in terms of player availability against the Bengals (I know guys were nicked up and playing), but they didn’t look like they belonged on the same field. A week earlier they flirted with losing to a Dolphins team that started a 3rd string QB. Injuries were a factor, but in my opinion it was something greater.

As for why the entire team seemed to regress after the bye, specifically the Packers game at half, maybe it was the weight of expectations. That’s all I can come up with. Earlier in the year it looked like everyone was having fun, they had a swagger, chests were poked out. I remember after the first two games one of the talking heads was saying “could the Bills go undefeated? This has the same feel of that Patriots season” and then the wheels came off. The worst teams in the league were hanging with the Bills. They no longer looked dominant, confident, or like they were having fun. In hindsight looking back, it reminded me of Aikman going into the tunnel at halftime of SB 28 against the Bills and finding it interesting that the team was hanging their heads despite being up on the scoreboard. The weight of expectations is all I can come up with. This team needs a shrink. EDIT: I would’ve loved to see how the Bills from earlier in the year would’ve fared against that playoff Bengal team. The defense still would’ve had the wrong game plan, but I think the overall mindset of the team was just in a much different place. They were hungrier. I think they would’ve showed why Vegas favored them by 6 at home.

Elam was a healthy scratch at one point this season. It took awhile for Cook to get back on the field after fumbling his first game. Bernard could never get on the field. Shakir struggled to make an impact despite having the most separation among rookie WRs (2.4 yards). Benford started out decent, got injured, and when he was healthy enough to return, he didn’t. Doesn’t mean the ‘22 draft class sucks, but the Bills haven’t been too kind to their rooks.