folz

I pointed this out earlier in the thread, but thought it might need repeating: I just think you need to read the article a little more critically (take off your "I think McD should be fired" glasses for just a moment and think about it as if this article were written about you or a family member). The reason I believe it to be a "hit" piece is not because Dunne shared a couple of embarrassing stories from former players (big deal), and its not because he used actual quotes from his sources that may not be flattering for McDermott, which of course just shows that Dunne is cherry-picking stories and quotes from disgruntled people to try to paint a particular narrative (already not the most noble endeavor for an "honest" journalist)... It is a hit piece because the article is riddled with personal attacks from Dunne (not his sources) directed at McDermott. Tell me if the following phrases (none of which came from his sources, these are Dunne's own words) sound like good, honest journalism or just personal attacks. Dunne wrote the following things about McDermott (and this is just a small sample): he's "tangibly nervous" "He's quick to blame" "he put Dorsey's head on a stick" "the honeymoon is over" with players (i.e. he's lost the locker room) he's always "pointing a finger at his breadwinning quarterback" he "finds a way to deflect blame" he's "a coaching relic routinely paralyzed by fear" he's "forever horrified of what could go wrong" he's "Oblivious to reality" "the head coach...administers mass lobotomies on his team." Is that someone just reporting what his sources told him, or is that someone with an agenda? Do you not see how Dunne is using very emotional language to influence, that he blurs the line between what is his opinion and what are the opinions of the 25 interviewees. I mean, not one of those people said that McDermott was "a coaching relic" or "oblivious to reality", etc. None of the above are source quotes. But Dunne makes you think that all 25 people he talked to basically concur with all of his final conclusions, which seem to just be a lot of personal attacks. How would you feel if someone wrote an article about you basically calling you a nervous, fearful, coward who is so clueless that he actually makes those around him stupid, and then intimate that you basically have 25 people to back that up, and the next thing you know you are being lampooned on a national comedy show. Would you still feel that this was just a truthful writer doing his job? This is the coach of a .500 win football team, not some presidential candidate with dirty laundry. Just because someone is in the public eye doesn't mean they are fair game to personal attacks. You can criticize the job they are doing, etc. but leave the name calling on the playground with the kiddies. In the world of logic, grammar, and rhetoric, one only uses fallacies, such as ad hominem (personal) attacks, when they know their argument isn't actually that strong, and/or when they just want to destroy someone (revenge). I don't know if Dunne has a beef or is just trying to get subs, but this article is not just some honest journalist looking out for the good people of western New York who deserve to know the truth because they spend their hard earned money on this product.

Exactly...Romo and Nance say, "Isn't that great, really shows his competitive nature." If Josh or most other players did that, we would hear all week about their poor sportsmanship, how they lost their cool, need to learn to control themselves better. But with Pat, of course it just proves how great he is. I don't dislike Mahomes, but the favoritism in the league and media is hard to take sometimes. And it kills me when players (Brady/Mahomes/Kelce) who almost always get the calls their way complain about the refs. 🙄

Still mathematically alive baby!

First of all, the season isn't over yet. But yes, with the talent on this team, our record should be better...but this idea going around the board that having an elite QB automatically equals 12-13 wins and a Super Bowl appearance (at least every other year) is a fallacy. As is, no other coach could ever have a .500 record with an elite QB. The "great" Sean Payton led the Saints to four seasons of 7-9 and also an 8-8 season with soon-to-be Hall of Famer Drew Brees as his QB. (One Super Bowl appearance/win in 14 years together). Mike McCarthy had season records of 6-10, 8-7-1, 7-9, and 4-7-1 with Aaron Rodgers as his QB. Matt LaFleur had an 8-9 season with Aaron Rodgers at QB. Mike Tomlin had two 8-8 seasons with Ben Roethlisberger. Ok, this one is stretching back to another era (and the Bills had a lot to say about it), but Don Shula (HOF, top 3 coach of all-time) with Dan Marino (HOF, top 5-7 QB all time) in 13 years together, only made (and lost) one Super Bowl, and had seasons of 8-8, 8-7, 6-10, 8-8, and 8-8. This isn't Madden, where everything is static based on rating, teams/coaches/players have theirs ups and downs, ebbs and flows, not just during the season, but from year to year as well. It's not as easy as get an elite QB and start winning Super Bowls. I think Brady and Mahomes have skewed people's perceptions. People now think that if you have an elite QB, you should automatically be in the Super Bowl every other year. It's just not true. Brady and Mahomes are the exception, not the rule...and we don't even know if Pat can maintain that for another ten years (going to Super Bowls, not his level of play) to remain that exception. This isn't a defense of McDermott per se (I am not by any means ok with a .500 record/no playoffs---if that happens---either), I just think that we as fans need to be more realistic about our expectations and criticisms. But then fan is short for fanatic, so...🤷‍♂️

It's always a good thing to have more/diverse weapons at your command as long as the OC is good and knows how to best utilize everyone. If Brady is worth his salt, there is no negative with Knox returning. It's just more options for Brady dependent on opponent/situation. And Knox is the best blocking TE, which should help in certain situations. I think you can run an offense where Kincaid, Knox, and Shakir all still get plenty of snaps and opportunities. But maybe the number of snaps flips a bit from earlier in the year when it was Knox, Kincaid, Shakir in order of snap count, to Kincaid, Shakir, Knox or Kincaid, Knox, Shakir. Morris and Sherfield will also probably see a bit of a drop in snap count as well to accommodate for Knox.

I have not read the entire article, so there may be some damning quotes to back up the opinions, but from the excerpts that have been shared here, this is exactly why I have problems with articles like these (regardless of if you want McD fired or not). Let's face it, this is not a news story, it is an opinion piece. And all too often these days, writers blur the lines between what are their opinions and what are the actual words of the people they quote. For instance, here is one excerpted segment. Actual quotes are in red, Dunne's opinion/or conclusions are in green. Those who’ve worked with the head coach on a day-to-day basis predicted all of this — months in advance — because they’ve seen how McDermott operates on a day-to-day basis. How tangibly nervous he gets in close games. How he has never truly appreciated his gift from the football gods: Josh Allen. How he’s quick to blame everyone but himself in defeat. That’s why one coach — in June — began by asking a simple question: “If they fail again this year? What does ownership do with Sean?” Three seconds later, he answered his own hypothetical. “Next year if they fail, you know who’ll be the first person he serves up? Ken Dorsey.” The coach wasn’t quite sure how McDermott would manage to put Dorsey’s head on a stick. After all, it’s the head coach’s beloved defense that has melted in four straight postseason losses. The honeymoon period with fans ended a long time ago — pointing a finger at his breadwinning quarterback, again, surely wouldn’t work. Yet even back in June, this assistant knew his old boss would find a way to deflect blame. “Watch,” he said, “if they sputter at all during this year, the narrative’s going to be the offense.” So, one coach (that may have worked under Sean---Dunne intimates it but doesn't confirm it) back in June said that if the team fails, Sean will create a narrative that it's the offenses fault and "serve up" Dorsey. But Dunne led into the quote with "Those who've worked with the head coach on a day-to-day basis predicted all of this.." You have one person quoted, who are "those", is it all 25 people you talked to or is it just this one unnamed coach. He leads you to believe that all of his sources thought this, predicted it. But we don't know if it's more than just this one or not, or how many. And look at the terminology that he, Dunne, (not his sources) uses: "tangibly nervous" "Never truly appreciated his gift from the football gods: Josh Allen" "He's quick to blame" "put Dorsey's head on a stick" "head coach's beloved defense that has melted" "honeymoon is over" "pointing a finger at his breadwinning quarterback" "find a way to deflect blame" None of those are quotes from his sources, that is Dunne painting the picture he wants you to see, and leading us to believe that his opinions are actually those of all of the people he quoted. And well if 25 people are saying this, that's a lot, so it must be true and everyone across the organization feels this way. Here's the other excerpt that was posted: He’s a coaching relic routinely paralyzed by fear late in games. He never imagines what could go right with 20 seconds left in regulation, instead forever horrified of what could go wrong. Oblivious to the reality that he employs one of the sport’s most talented quarterbacks. The word you’ll hear constantly from those who’ve been around McDermott is “tight.” He’s so incomprehensibly tight, they say, players cannot help but stiffen up themselves. As if the head coach uses the 2-minute warning to administer mass lobotomies on his team. Again, the entire actual quote that he is using from his source is "tight." The rest is all Dunne again, and honestly, look at the words and phrases he is using to emotionally sway us to his opinion. No doubt this writer has some sort of axe to grind: "a coaching relic routinely paralyzed by fear" "forever horrified of what could go wrong" "Oblivious to reality" "the head coach...administers mass lobotomies on his team." I mean, come on, those are not quotes or even opinions from his sources, that is all Dunne's opinion, but when you read the article the two things get blurred together that you start thinking that Dunne's opinion is how everyone in the building feels, because I mean he interviewed 25 people. Yeah, but what did these people actually say (compared to Dunne's opinion and creative writer's license) and who are these people, what's their perspective, their level of objectivity. If he quotes one person, am I to assume the other 24 people all feel the same way, etc. This post has nothing to do with whether McDermott should be fired or not, just pointing out that we need to read articles like these with our critical hats on and take them with a grain of salt.

Honestly, if we didn't get hosed by the refs this year (or got the Philly/KC treatment instead), it would be a totally different picture. We would be sitting at 9-3 (or better) right now...with wins against Philly...but more importantly, AFC teams Cincinnati and Jacksonville. We would be lamenting that we might not get the #1 seed because of the three games we shouldn't have lost (Jets, Pats, Broncos---by a combined 12 points), rather than wondering if we can run the table to sneak into the playoffs. On the one hand, maybe the Jax and Cincy losses helped in the firing of Ken Dorsey (which maybe doesn't happen if our record is better), so maybe things happen for a reason, but I think we and the media/other fans would have a much different view of the 2023 Bills if we were sitting at 9-3 right now (top of the AFC East), having just beat Philly (the 9-1 reigning NFC Champs), with a blowout win against the Dolphins, and a 5-3 Conference record (instead of 3-5). I'm linking a couple of videos from a channel called Bills News Consolidated where he breaks down the bad calls or non-calls in the Eagles and Bengals games. You may not agree with all of his interpretations (he is a Bills fan after all and we all have a little bias built in when it comes to our team), but I do think he makes a pretty good case in showing how lopsided the refereeing was in those contests. In the first half against Philly...when we were rolling and they were struggling, the refs called 10 penalties for 75 yards against the Bills, while the Eagles only got called for one 5-yard false start penalty (and by the way, they didn't call another penalty on the Eagles until there was only :38 seconds left in the 4th quarter). And that doesn't even get into all of the penalties by the Eagles that the refs just chose to overlook. And I could add at least a few more non-calls from the ones he points out in his video: the blindside hit on Diggs, a blatant hold on an Eagles kick return, etc. And in the Bengals game, he shows 12 calls that didn't go the Bills way that were either not fouls, or ticks-tacky fouls that weren't being called consistently on both teams, etc. He didn't do a breakdown of the Jacksonville game, but the officiating was just as horrendous in that one. It was obvious, with the NFL's "experiment," that they wanted Jacksonville to come out on top of that one. Call it what you will...conspiracy, corruption, incompetence...but it seems pretty obvious that the Bills did get screwed this year. [This is not to say that the Bills haven't shot themselves in the foot as well, or that the offense wasn't anemic for a good stretch, that there wasn't internal strife causing problems, etc., etc. But even with all of that, we still win these three games if the refs called them fairly/consistently, imo.]

Since I looked at 5 top QBs statistically from 2020-2023 in my other post, I thought I would look at their TD:Turnover rate for that period (you went back to 2018). I also added a handful more guys from my last post for a larger comparison (outside of Rodgers, only choosing guys that played all 4 years). 2020-2023 TD:Turnover Rate* Total TDs Aaron Rodgers 4.37 118 (2020-2022 only for Rodgers) Justin Herbert 2.84 125 Patrick Mahomes 2.74 145 Jalen Hurts 2.36 99 Kirk Cousin 2.36 125 Dak Perscott 2.32 102 Joe Burrow 2.28 107 Josh Allen 2.19 162 Ryan Tannehill 2.15 86 Tua Tag 2.10 80 Matt Stafford 1.86 91 Lamar Jackson 1.82 89 Jared Goff 1.74 92 Derek Carr 1.50 87 *turnovers include interceptions and fumbles lost Now, granted, more overall TDs is still better (which Josh has) because the opposing team is not going to score 7 points off of every turnover. Some may just turn into field goals and on some they may not get points at all. So, TD to Turnover rate isn't some be-all stat for overall success or scoring or wins either. It just points out that, as we all know, Josh could get better at not turning the ball over. If he did, he would then be fully on par with Mahomes...but as it is, he's a step down right now because of the turnovers. Yet Josh's overall total TDs/scoring does balance out enough of the turnovers, to still put him ahead of the rest of the QBs in the league (not named Mahomes), imo. I mean would anyone really want Kirk Cousins instead of Josh Allen because Kirk has a better TD to Turnover Rate?

Adding Burrow and Jackson to the comparison per request Five QB comparison, last 4 years (2020-2023 seasons) Total Attempts (pass + rush) Total Turnovers (INTs + FL Lost) Turnover % Total TDs (pass + rush) TD % Allen 2,628 74 2.8 162 6.2 Mahomes 2,547 53 2.1 145 5.7 Hurts 1,879 42 2.24 99 5.3 Burrow 2,078 47 2.26 107 5.15 Jackson 1,934 49 2.53 89 4.60 Average per season (2020-2023): Attempts Total TOs Total TDs Allen 657 18.5 40.5 Mahomes 636.75 13.25 36.25 Hurts 469.75 10.5 24.75 Burrow 519.5 11.75 26.75 Jackson 483.5 12.25 22.25 [If you prorate each QB to the same number of attempts as Josh, it would look like this: Attempts Total TOs Total TDs Allen 657 18.5 40.5 Mahomes 657 13.7 37.4 Hurts 657 14.7 34.6 Burrow 657 14.9 33.8 Jackson 657 16.6 30.2 [I adjusted the following numbers from my first post with the players actual number of games played for 2020-2023] Josh averaged 1.21 turnovers/game and 2.66 TDs/game (net +1.45 TDs) Pat averaged .88 turnovers/game and 2.41 TDs/game (net +1.53 TDs) Jalen averaged .88 turnovers/game and 1.77 TDs/game (net +.89 TDs) Joe averaged .90 turnovers/game and 2.06 TDs/game (net +1.16 TDs) Lamar averaged .96 turnovers/game and 1.75 TDs/game (net +.79 TDs) So, over 2020-2023: In comparison to Mahomes, Josh has averaged 5 more turnovers per season, but also 4 more TDs per season In comparison to Hurts, Josh has averaged 8 more turnovers/season, but also 16 more TDs per season In comparison to Burrow, Josh has averaged 6 more turnovers/season, but also 14 more TDs per season In comparison to Jackson, Josh has averaged 6 more turnovers/season, but also 18 more TDs per season Another possible way to look at it (besides TDs) is number of yards per turnover: Total yards (2020-2023) Total TOs Yards/turnover Allen 18,736 74 253.12 Mahomes 19,098 53 360.34 Hurts 10,911 42 259.79 Burrow 14,688 47 312.51 Jackson 13,609 49 277.73

About an hour ago I added the following comparison of Josh, Mahomes, and Hurts to the other thread (Alpha's thread). So, I thought I would put it in here too, just for added information on the subject: Three QB comparison, last 4 years (2020-2023 seasons) [Didn't have time to do more than the 3 QBs, but figured it would be a good picture at least, 3 current top QBs]: Total Attempts (pass + rush) Total Turnovers (INTs + FL Lost) Turnover % Total TDs (pass + rush) TD % Allen 2,628 74 2.8 162 6.2 Mahomes 2,547 53 2.1 145 5.7 Hurts 1,879 42 2.24 99 5.3 Averages per season (2020-2023): Attempts Total TOs Total TDs Allen 657 18.5 40.5 Mahomes 636.75 13.25 36.25 Hurts 469.75 10.5 24.75 [If you prorate Hurts to the same number of attempts as Josh, his turnovers would rise to 14.7 and his TDs to 34.6.] So, yes, Josh has a lot more turnovers than Mahomes and Hurts overall, but on more attempts and also with more TDs. His TO% is indeed the highest, but so is his TD%. [And as far as attempts go, Mahomes is too close to Josh for it to probably make any significant difference; but if Hurts had 750 more attempts, it is likely that his turnover % would go up from where it is---just by odds]. Josh averages 1.09 turnovers/game and 2.38 TDs/game (net +1.29 TDs) Pat averages .78 turnovers/game and 2.13 TDs/game (net +1.35 TDs) Jalen averages .62 turnovers/game and 1.46 TDs/game (net +.84 TDs) So, in comparison to Mahomes, Josh has averaged 5 more turnovers per season, but also 4 more TDs per season In comparison to Hurts, Josh has averaged 8 more turnovers/season, but also 16 more TDs per season Another possible way to look at it (besides TDs) is number of yards per turnover: Total yards (2020-2023) Total TOs Yards/turnover Allen 18,736 74 253.12 Mahomes 19,098 53 360.34 Hurts 10,911 42 259.79 So, from a yardage standpoint, Mahomes is far out ahead. But, Hurts and Josh are pretty close. All things considered, I think Josh's yardage, TDs, and IT factor far outweigh the high turnover percentage in relation to any QB not named Mahomes. But, boy, if he could get that turnover rate down a bit...

Look, we all want Josh to cut down on turnovers, but even with the turnovers, his positives way supersede his negatives. Nice OP Alpha...I think you proved your point regarding Josh's interceptions pretty well. I just thought that I would satisfy some of your threads' critics with some stats that include, yes, FUMBLES/total turnovers: Three QB comparison, last 4 years (2020-2023 seasons) [Didn't have time to do more than the 3 QBs, but figured it would be a good picture at least, 3 current top QBs]: Total Attempts (pass + rush) Total Turnovers (INTs + FL Lost) Turnover % Total TDs (pass + rush) TD % Allen 2,628 74 2.8 162 6.2 Mahomes 2,547 53 2.1 145 5.7 Hurts 1,879 42 2.24 99 5.3 Averages per season (2020-2023): Attempts Total TOs Total TDs Allen 657 18.5 40.5 Mahomes 636.75 13.25 36.25 Hurts 469.75 10.5 24.75 So, yes, Josh has a lot more turnovers than Mahomes and Hurts overall, but on more attempts and also with more TDs. His TO% is indeed the highest, but so is his TD%. [And as far as attempts go, Mahomes is too close to Josh for it to probably make any significant difference; but if Hurts had 750 more attempts, it is likely that his turnover % would go up from where it is---just by odds]. Josh averages 1.09 turnovers/game and 2.38 TDs/game Pat averages .78 turnovers/game and 2.13 TDs/game Jalen averages .62 turnovers/game and 1.46 TDs/game So, in comparison to Mahomes, Josh has 5 more turnovers per season, and 4 more TDs per season In comparison to Hurts, Josh has 8 more turnovers/season, but 16 more TDs per season Do the turnovers hurt more than the TDs help? You tell me. But obviously, if Josh could cut down on the turnovers, he would be even more unstoppable.

It's never over until you are mathematically eliminated! And we've got a bye week now to rest up and retool. How much fun would it be if they did go on a run. That's what I'm rooting for. If it doesn't happen, well, that's what the offseason is for and changes will most likely be made. But, right now, we still have a chance with 5 more games. Just need to take them one at a time, exacting our season-long frustrations out on each and everyone: Nedermeyer...dead, Mahomes...dead, Jerry Jones...dead, Boltman...dead---you get the picture. 😊 I mean, what the F@&# happened to the Bills fans that I used to know? Show some gumption and keep rooting for the team until the season is officially over. Go Bills!

People already going off on the coaching staff. Unbelievable. This game was totally on the Bills players and the refs. If Cook doesn't drop a gimme TD, Gabe and Josh are on the same page in OT, and Tyler hits his FGs, the Bills win by 16 points. And don't even get me started on the refs.

Maybe it's because they are young and have never actually seen the movie, but those are some weak Rocky poses boys. Hope the Bills come out stronger than that today. The Bills have been the hunted the last couple of years, but they are back to being the underdog...right where they like to be. Watch out league! And the Bills should have plenty of motivation: 1. The Playoffs; 2. Not letting Miami take away the division crown; 3. The way they have been talked about and portrayed in the media the last 6 weeks or so. Time for the Bills to take out their frustrations against every team they face, to get back in the race.

I've been thinking this since I heard the nickname "Brotherly Shove." I was like how did that come about (Philly getting credit or the moniker for this play)? The Bills ran this a number of times last season and I remember announcers saying (at that time) that they had never seen it before (Gabe/a WR helping to push Josh/QB in the end zone) and then, eventually, other teams started to followed suit. Not that it really matters who gets credit (except maybe to Ken Dorsey), but I've been like why is this now Philadelphia's thing? As if they invented it.

Two fumbles in four years. And what no one who brings up Gabe's catch percentage points out is the difficultly level of the balls thrown to him. Most of the throws to Gabe are deep shots, either fly patterns, posts, deep outs, etc. Those throws have a much higher-level of difficulty. For instance, if you compare his catch percentage to a slot receiver or a possession receiver whose majority of receptions are under 10 yards, well of course those players are going to have a higher percentage than Gabe. I'm not forgiving Gabe for his drops or for not fighting hard enough for contested balls sometimes, but catch percentage has to be looked at in context.

I'm with Shaw regarding the benching of Cook. And was going to post something similar. We had an offense/team that was in a slump and needed a spark to turn things around. Sean went against his normal inclination to defer the opening kickoff to try and spark the offense, show confidence in them, get them started early. So, we receive the kick and the very first play Cook fumbles. This immediately takes the wind out of the sails of the offense, the team, and the stadium/fans---I think people already started booing at that point---puts the defense immediately backs to the wall, etc.. Everything you built up all week to try and get off the snide, start fast, etc. was gone on the first play from scrimmage. Have a seat Cook. While I was watching the game, I didn't think there was anything wrong with that and knew exactly why it was done. We have seen Belichick and many other coaches do the same, continuously throughout their coaching tenures. It wasn't some crazy thing that Sean did that no other coach would do. And when he talked about length of time with the team or whatever, I don't think he was necessarily referring to Gabe as a comparison. Cook is in his second year, he has a total of 209 carries and 1,122 yards with 3 TDs and 3 fumbles lost. He has flashed a lot and we all want him to become a great back, but he hasn't fully earned his stripes in the league yet. Now, if a Derrick Henry, or a Thurman Thomas fumbles on the first play, you aren't worried about them going forward. But, look, Cook dropped the ball twice more in the game (one may have been on Josh). Maybe he has dropped a lot of balls in practice, maybe that and pass blocking is what keeps him from getting more playing time over the last two years. Either way, I find it funny that people are using that situation as another thing to pile on McD with. There are lots of things you can question about how McD is handling things, I just don't think this is one of them. Also, on the Gabe "drop." Yes, any ball that hits your hands should be caught...that's the rule and I'm not going to give Gabe a pass here. But, even when I was watching the play live, real time...after Josh let it go, before it even got to Gabe, I said, oh no, Josh put too much juice on that ball. And sure enough, it goes through Gabe's hands. And every replay I watch I just kept thinking Josh put way too much on that ball. Now to be fair to Josh, there were two defenders closing in from either side, so he probably felt that he needed to get it there fast, rifle it in, thread the needle...and we already had the fumble, so he's probably already pressing a bit and just put too much on the ball. So, I think that one was kind of on both players. I know that won't be a popular opinion, but that's how I saw it.

Just a few things to note about Joe Brady's time in Carolina, for those who only look at team record to judge. Now I'm not saying any of this will or won't mean he does well in Buffalo, just trying to add some context: In 2020: -His first NFL OC job under a rookie head coach -With post-injury Teddy Bridgewater at QB, Carolina had four players go over 1,000 yards from scrimmage (only 5th time a team did so in the Super Bowl era). -RB Mike Davis, and Wide Receivers D.J. Moore, Robbie Anderson, and Curtis Samuel all had career years (each had the best year of their careers which they haven't matched since either). -CMC only played 3 games this year due to injury. -Bridgewater had the highest completion percentage and most passing yards of his career -The Panthers set a franchise record for fewest punts in a season. - 8 of their 11 loses were by 8 points or less. 5 of their loses were by 5 points or less. -The Carolina defense set (negative) franchise records for the worst defensive 3rd down % and fewest interceptions in a season. -Overall, the offense was 21st in yards per game (at 350 yards) and 24th in points per game (scoring an average of 22 points). Rankings and record weren't great, but you have to remember that Carolina's defense wasn't good (they were obviously on the field a lot as shown by the 3rd down % and the fact that they had two linebackers with more than 114 tackles each that year), and yet, Brady had 5 skill players on offense have the best years of their careers to that point or since. It seems that he had his guys playing at their best (even if their best couldn't match up with better teams). In 2021: -Curtis Samuel leaves for Washington (the team has no 3rd receiver behind Moore and Anderson, unless you count Brandon Zylstra's 250 yards). And Mike Davis leaves for Atlanta. -CMC only plays 7 games due to injury. -Sam Darnold is QB and a rookie Chubba Hubbard is your lead back for most of the year (with CMC out) -TEs are Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble -The Carolina defense did improve a bit in 2021 -Carolina fans were mad that the team didn't address the offensive line before the 2021 season (as they already weren't great in 2020). At the end of the season, the Panthers GM said that addressing the O-line in the offseason is now their #1 priority (ahead of their glaring QB need). So, obviously they were pretty poor. -Offense fell to 29th in scoring and 30th in yards (and remember Brady was fired after week 12. He definitely had some clunkers of his own, but the team averaged 20 points per game for the first 12 with Brady and 14 points/game in the last 5 games without Brady). And let's face it, outside of DJ Moore and CMC (for 7 games only), that offense had absolutely no talent, across the board, at every position. Hard to put that all on Brady. Again, who knows if Brady will work out here or not...I just wanted to add some context to his time in Carolina for those who may not have looked into it.

This is why you don't let your QB make major decisions, like who should be the OC. Pure speculation here, but could it be that since Josh wanted Dorsey so much that he continued backing him when other players (particularly Stef) saw major issues with the offense and/or Dorsey himself? Could this be what cooled their relationship, what Stef was upset about, what the problem in the locker room is? If Josh was on an island in his support of Dorsey, or if there was a split in the locker room about it (like with a QB controversy) that could be a cause of the "lack of fun," subdued, depressed sideline demeanor of the team and/or certain players, not being on the same page, etc. There are problems if your QB isn't the team leader with everyone following him...or if the team leaders aren't all pulling in the same direction. If that were true, it still wouldn't leave McDermott blameless. He obviously needed to address that situation earlier then. Plus, he's the one that ultimately made the decision to hire Dorsey. Well, now McD gets the rest of the season to prove that either Dorsey was the problem, or if instead Sean, himself, has lost this team. This team has suffered so much heartbreak and bad luck over the last two years that maybe the players have just lost faith in McDermott's "process." We'll see. But, if he can't turn them around and go on a streak to end the season, then I'll no longer have confidence that he could turn them around next year. Sometimes you just need a change to exorcise all the bad juju that has built up. At the start of the season I thought there is no way that McDermott gets fired unless the team totally tanks, which I didn't think possible, but here we are. Seven bad games out of ten isn't a slump, it is a collapse. Not sure if my speculations are correct, but there is obviously something seriously wrong with this team.

I've been thinking something similar. I wonder if they are having a hangover/flashbacks to last year. Tre goes down. Oooof Tre, one of the most likable guys and after working so hard for two years to get back. Then the London game "experiment," and they lose Daquan and Milano (two of their absolutely best defenders). And these are serious injuries...season ending, not we'll have them back in a few weeks. Then Damien Harris is getting taken off the field in an ambulance. Basically in 3 games, they revisited a lot of what they went through all last season. Could it be a subconscious feeling of "what's the point" or something has settled into the team a bit? I really think their issues may be more mental and emotional rather than about the Xs and Os. [Obviously, the missing players themselves is also a big reason.] Tim Graham is correct about them not having fun, but I don't think it has anything to do with trick plays 🙄. With what this team has been through over the last season-and-a-half, I'm sure football just doesn't feel real fun to a lot of them right now. And I think McDermott's tenure may live or die on whether he can pull them out of this funk.

Seems this old saying is appropriate here: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Bengals 31 Bills 13, if we're lucky? Seriously? Maybe the Bills should just forfeit the game right now and rest up for week 10. I certainly can't guarantee anything, but I would definitely bet against your take.

Yes, every season is a new season, and a regular season game does not equate to a playoff game, but do you really think there is no revenge factor for this one? The Bills had to hear all off-season how the Bengals have surpassed them, are a tougher team, beat up on the Bills, etc. when the Bills know they were a depleted squad at the time, both roster-wise, and emotionally. They were not at their best by a long shot. Do you think Josh wants to hear how Burrow has surpassed him? Do you think Stefon doesn't want revenge for that playoff loss and will want to outdo Chase & Co., etc. We won't hear any of the Bills talk about it, but I think the revenge/payback/prove ourselves angle will play a big part in this one. Sure, this is a pick-em game, because both teams are very good. But I'm not buying the Bengals are just too good, match up too well against us, are too tough crap either. I think the Bills will WANT this one more and still have the dogs to get it done. Last year was last year. Time for the 2023 team to show that no one has their number. Go Bills!

I watched the play back a few times because I couldn't believe it wasn't called. It looks like a Bills player had #5's facemark and is pulling his helmet up, so #5 takes it off himself (so the Bills player can't continue to mess with his head). But here it gets murky and open to interpretation. It sure looks like he swings it, hits one Bills player and almost a second. But, he could have just still been trying to pull his helmet back from the Bills player who still had a grasp of it (or his arm) and the contact was incidental...i.e., he didn't mean to swing it at the other players, it happened as a consequence of him trying to rip his helmet back (away from the Bills player) and when the Bills player released his grip, #5 is still pulling on it, so it swings. I assume that is how the refs saw it. But yes, in real time, it sure looked like a swing. I'm just not sure I can rule out the other possible interpretation to be too upset about it. If there was any offsetting of penalties, it wouldn't have been on Settle, but on the Bills player that was grabbing #5's facemark.

Yes, the Bills let Tampa hang around and have a shot in a game that should have been well over. But crazy stuff happens in the NFL. Think of Tampa's last TD drive. They were bailed out once on 4th down by the refs with a BS illegal contact penalty. Then on another 4th down, Jordan grabs the facemark when he didn't need to to extend the drive. And both their TD pass (also on 4th down) and 2-point conversion were a bit lucky (ricochets). Then Von gives Baker an extra 5 yards on the Hail Mary on the next drive. Yes, two of those were Bills' players making a mistake, but just look at how many balls bounced just right for Tampa to even have a shot at a desperation attempt (that yes was closer than it should have been). Again, how many near interceptions did the Bills have, how many times was one of Baker's passes hanging in the air after a tip and nothing? Yet the one time they tip one of Josh's passes, it goes right to a Bucs player. A lot of things went the Bucs way for them to even have a slim chance of pulling that game out. Now, I'm not saying I was happy with Dorsey's goal-line play calling (I wasn't). And, yeah, I think that MCD got a little too conservative (I would have gone for that first 4th down at least). Of course, we need to stop the dumb penalties, etc., etc. But, I wanted to focus on some of the positives from the game: 1. The team had emotion and passion again across the squad (feels like we haven't seen that since before London). 2. With Knox and Morris out, we had to go away from the 12-personnel and I think that is good. A buddy of mine said, "they finally look like the offense from early last year." I think because that is who they are at their best. The 12-personnel made a lot of sense (with Knox and Kincaid), but I don't think that is who they are. They will have to do this a few more weeks with Knox on IR and I'm hoping they finally find their identity and then mix Knox back into that. They can still go 12-personnel here and there against certain teams, but that shouldn't be their base identity. 3. Other guys not named Diggs stepped up in the passing game: 3a. Dalton Kincaid is finally starting to break out! 3b. Shakir proved that he deserves the more reps that he got on Sunday. 3c. Gabe silenced his doubters for at least another week with an excellent game, a TD, a contested catch, etc. 4. Sam Martin was a weapon last night. 5. Harty had three beautiful punt returns (two called back on penalties that we never got a replay of on the TV broadcast) 6. Josh was more Josh-like: on top of his 324 passing yards and 2 passing TDs, he had 41 rushing yards and a rushing TD. Just the threat of Josh running affects the defense. 7. The defense only gave up two TDs. A short-field TD where Tampa started on the Bills 23-yard line (after the interception) and the last TD when the Bills were basically in prevent, and as mentioned above Tampa got a lot of luck/help on that drive. From 6:46 left to go in the 2nd quarter until 10:00 left in the 4th quarter (almost 2 full quarters) the Bucs had a total of 17 plays for 62 yards and 4 punts. Godwin had 5 recs for 54 yards and Evans had 3 recs for 39 yards. They held two really good WRs pretty much in check. And though Rachaad White did some damage as a receiver, the Tampa Bay backs were held to 45 yards rushing (yes, I know they are a bad rushing team, but still..) 8. Bass made all 4 of his kicks. I could go on with a few more I'm sure, but you get the picture. With my Homer glasses securely on, I don't see this game as another near-failure, but as a step in the right direction. We were in a 3-game slump, looking lethargic. Last night didn't bring us all the way back, but was a big step up from the previous three games in many ways. Let's hope the climb continues and they get back to where we know they can be at just the right time to get hot heading down the stretch and into the playoffs. I still believe they can make things happen this year! Go Bills!