DrDawkinstein

Rapp the ASSASSIN strikes again! On the punt return, he had the block that pushed his guy into injuring the other Dolphin, springing Harty. On the 2nd last play, he crushed Hill, breaking up the pass and injuring Hill. On the last play, big INT and managed to only injure HIMSELF (looked like he got his win knocked out landing on the ball) That's a RAPP! Given that the Dolphins offense centers around Tua getting the ball out in 2seconds or less, I'm surprised we werent jumping routes sooner/more often. I get that the flip side of that tho is, you miss the ball and the WR is gone for a TD.

I didnt say anything about close games or blowouts. I said we play down to bad teams and play up to good teams. We blew out Dallas and Miami. Both good teams. I'll give you that we also blew out the Raiders and Commies early in the year. Those week 2-4 home games are our sweet spot. We played DOWN to the Giants, we played down to Mac Jones, we played down to the Broncos, we played down to the Chargers and Eastman Frickin Stick. We played up for the Chiefs and even the Eagles. And definitely Dallas and Miami.

https://finheaven.com/threads/the-admit-you-were-wrong-thread.382027/ This thread is hitting right.

I have to imagine the Bears would be happy getting a 2nd rounder for him. Everyone knows they are about to cut him and move on.

My biggest worry is that the Steelers arent good enough for the Bills to play UP to. We seem to play down to bad teams, and especially make bad QBs look great.

Arbitrarily? We've drafted at least 3 Safeties to develop as their replacements, spent years working on them, and no one is even close to being ready to fill in. Yes, Douglas and Rapp, two experienced vets who needed no developing, look like they are set to take over those spots. That's the exact problem I'm pointing to. Not a major problem. I'm not bashing anyone or saying we can't develop guys at all. But as someone who also has pushed the "DBU" narrative, when I go back and look, I'm thinking I might've had it a little wrong.

In the run game, absolutely. Not sure why we werent ready for exactly what Miami showed us against the Ravens but whatevs. Good halftime adjustments got it squared away. But as to why no sacks no pressures, I mean, we tried, but the ball was out before our DEs even engaged the OTs. Poor Leonard Floyd. Barely missed out on $2M.

So the key for the Bills is no turnovers and stopping a great run game? Yeah, dont sleep on the Steelers.

I'm purposely saying it that way to be a little cheeky, but also illustrate a point about all the time he spends on Defense and the little he spends on Offense/ST. It's why he needs to either find a DC to take over so he can go back to running the entire team, or take the official demotion to DC full time. The other units are hurting without proper leadership. side question: has any team ever made a deep playoff run with half a coaching staff? or even just an interim coordinator for that matter?

17 against the Ravens, 30 against the Seahawks, 34 against the Bengals. Dont sleep on them just because they've swapped QBs around a bunch.

Lots of blitzes by Miami. Tua getting the ball out in 2 seconds flat. Easy as that.

They're the best coached team in the playoffs, where we have a DC acting as Interim HC and a QB coach acting as Interim OC. Gonna be a tough one no matter what. Hopefully, our talent shows up to play and tips the balance back to our favor.

Partially coaching. Partially "we have no one else to play those spots because someone retired at halftime". We're 3/10 (or 4/11 couting Taron). Is 30% success a great development rate? What about when adding in the failure to develop 1st round pick Elam? I'm not out to knock McD. I would never say he does a BAD job with DBs or the Defense. It's definitely his strong spot. I'm just not certain we are running some magical DB training facility like a lot of us have been thinking. All those guys through our system over 6 years, and as Poyer and Hyde age out, there is no one ready to step up and take their spots. We're going to re-sign Rapp and probably some other vet FA. Just something small to chew on.

Does he tho? I've believed this as well, but the more seasons we go through, the less I'm believing it. Poyer and Hyde came into the team as seasoned vets. Tre White played how a 1st round pick should play. That set the tone that "McD knows DBs" But looking at the DBs they've drafted or signed as UDFAs since: Levi Wallace, Jaquan Johnson, Damar Hamlin, Cam Lewis, Siran Neal, Dane Jackson, Rachad Wildgoose, Nick McCloud, Kaiir Elam, Christian Benford. Not sure who was really developed there, or did we just luck into Benford, and kinda into some decent backups with Jackson, Lewis, Neal? edit: Just realized I left out Taron Johnson, which to be fair is definitely a big plus in McD's book. So there's ONE for him.

That 2nd down slow Josh bootleg that went no where was maddening. Like they thought there was only 30 seconds left and they were just setting up a field goal. Except there was 3 min left and we weer no where near FG range. Running is the right idea, keep the clock moving. But gotta come up with better running than that. Folks are bagging on Torrence this morning for missing a couple of assignments, but I look to Morse/Josh who should be calling out protections and making sure the rookie knows what to do on each play. Or at least start making those calls after the first time it happens. Need better communication up front there.

15-2 is just an absolutely ridiculous homer prediction for ANY team in the NFL. Even the BEST of the BEST teams over the last few years (Chiefs, Bills, Ravens, etc) top out at 14-3 or 13-4. If someone is going to predict 15-2, they might as well just say 17-0. A team will eventually go 15-2, but it will be a historic season.

haha heard that. I believe he said "oh yeah, they had plenty of comments for me" and Tirico goes "I bet they did!"

15-2! hahahahahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

It was a nice reminder that he doesnt need any of this football crap. He can go Billy Madison off of daddy's money.

Back in Florida where Playoff Lenny THRIVES. Jimbo Cook's hometown too!

I like your take. It's definitely a bunch of stuff adding up. But imo it starts and ends with coaching. Game planning, play calling, discipline, execution, accountability. All of the mistakes the players make are on the players, but even that rolls up to coaching. And we know the Offense has been a rudderless ship since McD focuses only on Defense. AND we're down to an Interim OC on top of that. Layer in the usual injuries and dings and here we are. What storm has Harbaugh weathered this season? Tomlin for sure, he has no QB and is still pulling out a double-digit win season. The Bills have their QB. They have talent. They, like the Ravens, are mostly healthy. They're just completely inconsistent on which team shows up to play or not play. Unlike the Ravens who show up to beat up the other team every week. Harbaugh is doing the job McD should be doing.

An OC and a Head Coach.

I'm actually hoping the Jags win. Just like I hoped the Steelers won yesterday. I want all the pressure on the Bills and McD today. Win and take the #2 spot. Or lose and go home. Let's see what this team really has when they're backs are against the wall. Maybe they'll show up for once.