dave mcbride

But he profiled as excelling at what the Bills want their corners to excel at: playing with receivers in front of them, turning hips fluidly, and sound tackling. Perfect for zone.

I guess I don’t see the physical trait issue. Tre White: 5’11”, 192 lbs, 4.47 40 time, 32” vertical McDuffie: 5’11”, 193 lbs, 4.44 40 time, 38.5” vertical. I mean, they are virtually carbon copies of each other physically and just as importantly, he scouts perfectly into their defense: “McDuffie possesses excellent play speed. He makes transitions extremely well and has an effective backpedal and lateral shuffle that allows him to stay facing receivers for long periods of time. He shows no issues in pure man coverage and was tasked with covering many types of receivers throughout his career with no glaring missteps. Long speed is a concern that may limit him when faced with NFL-caliber receivers. Instincts (75 - Elite): Will be one of the smartest players on the field, McDuffie is seemingly never in the wrong position and is continually one of the first players to the ball. He is extremely disciplined in coverage, always reading what is happening around him to best allow him to lock down his receiver. Anticipates and reacts to break quickly and efficiently in order to keep the ball from being thrown his way. He is extremely active as a run defender and really shows a complex understanding of how plays develop in front of him.” He’s basically a slightly better (in the scouting sense) Tre White(!), who has turned out to be a great player himself. My take: Bills people didn’t want to admit that they lost out on their targeted prospect *to KC of all teams* and spread the word, sour grapes-wise, that he wasn’t a fit anyway. As you and I both know, to this point he is a far better player than Elam (this is all irrespective of whether they should have drafted CB in rd 1, which is beside the point in this discussion). And I thought this prior to the draft. Also, why do you think KC felt that they had trade up to get him? What other very good team lurking close by was also clearly going CB given their roster and the word on the street?

I know @GunnerBill will argue otherwise, but I continue to believe that the Bills really wanted McDuffie given that he was a near-perfect for the McDermott system (i.e., great zone player and tackler coming out of Washington). I mean, it makes too much sense not to be the case, and it wasn’t the first time the Chiefs took advantage of the Bills in a draft. They then sorta panicked and got what they felt was the last high physical-talent CB left.

Joe B in The Athletic: Buscaglia: The concern probably should have started in his rookie training camp when, after getting a full share of starter’s snaps, he allowed Benford to get into the competition and then ahead of him. We know how it all unfolded in 2022 from there. But this year has gone a bit worse. Tim mentioned the healthy scratches, and from my perspective watching the film, Elam was the worst Bills player on the field Sunday by a healthy margin. He was a distant fourth on the cornerback depth chart to begin the year, and now he’s in jeopardy of remaining fourth if Ja’Marcus Ingram has earned more trust of the coaching staff to be where he’s supposed to be at all times. In the spring, I mentioned Elam as someone the Bills could consider moving before the regular season to try to capitalize on value if he didn’t lock down the starting gig. Now, I wouldn’t rule out them looking at Elam as a trade chip to improve a position at the trade deadline. In the interim, he may get one or two more chances, and it’s paramount that he takes advantage. https://theathletic.com/4957403/2023/10/12/buffalo-bills-new-york-giants-week-6/

Jax scored 10 points and compiled 230 yards. Any decent offense would have crushed Jax in that game. The Bills D also dropped a couple of INTs.

Unbelievable that he didn’t throw it. Wtf?!?

A lot of people don't really watch other teams except on Sunday nights, and the Broncos aren't on much.

Belichick tanking isn't going to happen given his chase for Shula's record.

41-10 Bills.

I think he was playing great last season but got hurt down the stretch — arm injury — and it really affected his play. But the Bills knew how good he was when healthy. This isn’t directed at you at all, but I think a lot of fans see unevenness over the course of a season and chalk it up to inconsistency when it’s really injury. I’ll never forget Bills fans being down on Robert Woods and Chris Hogan in their last seasons here for—respectively—a decline in explosiveness and drops, but then it turned out that Woods was playing with a torn groin for half a season and Hogan with torn wrist ligaments for more than half the season. The Bills never reported the extent of injuries once all season, and only at the end of the season would they list Woods as “probable (leg).”

I can’t get too down on Diggs, who is so far having the best season of his career. He is on pace for 132 receptions, 1768 yards, and 17 TDs. I expect it to tail off due to weather, but he has been playing like a first-team all pro this season.

The defender made a great play. The other side makes good plays too.

It was good that it went for an INT instead of an INC. It was the Bills’ best punt all day: 51 yards and no return. It was 3rd and 15.

I take your point, but I thought Jones was arguably their best d-lineman last year too.

I think this is pretty wrong. Jones has been their best defensive lineman this season.

Have you ever heard of Walt Patulski?

Interesting stat for Josh Norman in the 2021 season, during which he started 14 games (but none in the playoffs; SF made it to the NFC championship game and should have beaten LA): he had seven forced fumbles that season. That's a ridiculously high number.

I'm not a fan of blitz-heavy defenses myself. But they were literally missing half the starting lineup (more than half after Epenesa went out due to exhaustion/cramping and Miller due to pitch count) and were practically fielding a game-two-of-preseason squad out there. It forces teams to gamble. I get it. It's certainly not McDermott's preferred approach, though. That whole locale situation -- 10 days in London for the Jags and the Bills' idiotic approach to the travel schedule -- pisses me off.

I dunno - they forced him to make a difficult throw, but Lawrence made the play. As McDermott said in the press conference, it was a 3rd and 4 passing play, and he implied that he had little faith in guys' ability to cover. They felt their only chance was getting to the QB. I agree with him. As he said, Lawrence just made a great -- and difficult -- throw.

Watching that game, I felt they HAD to blitz a lot given the loss of Jones, the loss of an elite cover LB in Milano and the fact that Elam couldn't hold coverage on anyone. With time and Elam out there, I felt Lawrence had an easy completion at hand on every passing play. They blitzed out of desperation, but they were right to be desperate.

Nothing I've seen, but in the press conference, McDermott said it didn't look good. I think most of us are making assumptions based on that comment from the head coach.

The Dolphins averaged 3.3 yards per play in that game and were gifted 16 points because of turnovers and a long punt return (2 FGs, a TD, and a TD that started in FG range because of an Allen INT). Also, on one of their FG drives, they started at their own 40 because Bass kicked it out of bounds. The Dolphins' offense had one good drive all game but otherwise was shut down.

Agreed. Also, the Bills D players were cramping up (Jonathan, Epenesa), which is a product of dehydration. Intercontinental flights dehydrate you because there is no virtually no humidity on high-altitude plane flights. All the more reason to question the sports science guys in the Bills employ. The Ravens are doing the smart thing, but they've learned from bitter experience, getting blown out by Jax the last time they played in London. I always thought leaving on Thursday night was a really stupid idea (I work for a UK company and have a pretty good idea of the effects of those flights), but no one is gonna listen to me!

He’s arguably been the Bills best defensive player through 4 games and certainly in the first series of the Jax game (where he stoned a third and short), yet literally no one talks about him. Rich Eisen is a Bills fan, but my god, he knows nothing. What a bad, bad announcer. Say what you will about Romo, but he knows how good Jones has been and highlighted it. Eiden literally never said a word about Jones all game long despite the fact that the Bills biggest problem all game long was the absence of Jones.

Wow, Payton is such a d**k. Risking injury with a second to go and literally zero chance to win. People say he’s persecuted by the league, but it’s deserved. 2009 shouldn’t be forgotten.