folz

You must be joking, right? I have pretty much stayed away from the board since the Cincy loss because of all of the negativity (just peak in here and there), and yet I have still seen tons of posts calling out McDermott and many saying it is time to move on/fire him, or at least saying he should be on the hot seat, or analyzing the mistakes he's made, or what he did wrong. You, yourself, have been calling out McDermott pretty consistently. This just seems like a thinly-veiled "Fire McDermott" or "I don't like McDermott" rehash thread. And the "neither am I" in bold, red font makes me think of Shakespeare. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"

Who knows what went on internally, but I wonder if one of the main issues actually was Jaquan Johnson. Obviously, Hyde and Poyer are practically coaches themselves back there, so things always seemed smooth. But when we had to turn to the young guys, Jaquan was obviously not ready. And though Damar was a tough SOB (especially for his size) when it came to hitting and tackling, maybe his coverage skills did not improve throughout the year. Maybe Salgado was good at getting his guys to implement the scheme/gameplan and things like that, but isn't great at teaching/developing players. And as someone said upthread, over the next few years with Poyer's age/contract, Hyde's age, and the salary cap, we may have a lot of young safeties that will need to be coached up. I don't think Salgado was some kind of scapegoat, my guess is some coaching deficiency may have been revealed throughout this season and they wanted an upgrade. Of course, I know nothing of Joe Danna at this point, but to look only at the teams he's coached for and their record to judge him is very short-sighted. Gotta dig deeper (a position coach is not responsible for overall team record). Who has he coached up, what is his reputation amongst other coaches and players, is he known as a good teacher, etc.? As I said, I don't know anything about him yet, but I am not going to pan the hire until we know/hear/see more.

Yes, 22-8 record over the last 30 games. But to the OP's point, on a broader scale: Since 2020 (last 3 seasons): Our record is 41-14 for a winning percentage of 74.55% Only two of those 14 losses were blowouts (2020 vs. Tenn 42-16; 2021 vs. Ind 41-15) Only 3 double-digit loses in 55 games (includes 2020 AFCCG loss to KC by 14). In the other 11 losses, the average point differential was 4.3 points (with three OT games) [So, in 3 seasons, there have only been 3 games that we didn't either win or have a chance to win late in the game.] Point differential over those 3 seasons: +519, or +9.44 points per game 3 playoff appearances, 4 playoff wins (thus far) The best of times is indeed NOW...enjoy the ride.

And they are 5th best in the league at total first downs allowed this season. Obviously, not all first downs are converted on third down...but just another stat to show that the defense has been better than some fans perceive. The Bills D is 1st overall in total yards against, 2nd overall in points allowed, tied for 3rd overall in yards per play allowed, tied for 3rd overall in turnovers created, 2nd overall in opponent red zone conversion %, 5th in total first downs allowed, 6th in 3rd down conversions allowed, tied for 9th in sacks (though 13 teams have more sacks than we do, 4 teams with the same # as we have)...maybe a more honest stat is pressure percentage, where the Bills rank 14th. The league scoring average for 2022 was 22 points per game. So, basically half the league scores 22 points or more per game. The Bills defense allowed 17.875 points per game. Only 5 offenses in the league averaged fewer than 18 points per game. Nine of our games were against teams that averaged at least 21.2 points per game this year, yet the Bills only allowed 5 teams to score more than 21 points and didn't allow anyone to score more than 26 (Minn had a defensive TD). The Bills defense held 12 of 16 teams below their own team's 2022 scoring average. So, the Bills defense is middle of the pack in QB pressures/sacks (the Miller, Hyde, White injuries play a big part in that of course), but by pretty much every other metric, the Bills are at least a top 5 defense (if not top 2 or 3). Of course it's frustrating when they give up a third and long play, but overall, they are still giving up fewer yards, first downs, and points than almost any other team in the league, so those plays have to be put in perspective. Eleven of the 2022 playoff defenses have a worse 3rd down conversions allowed percentage than the Bills (only Balt and the NY Giants were better). One thing I would look at though, if I were a defensive coach, are those boundary screens. We've given up a few 3rd and longs on those plays this year. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2022/opp.htm https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/points-per-game

AFC playoff QBs ages (average age = 25) Mahomes 27 Allen 26 Burrow 26 Herbert 24 Lawrence 23 Jackson 26/Huntley 24 Tua 24/Thompson 25 NFC playoff QBs ages (average age = 30; although Brady skews this quite a bit) Brady 45 Hurts 24 Purdy 23 Prescott 29 Cousins 34 Jones 25 Smith 32

No, but Miami, New England, and Detroit are still alive in the playoff picture, and that was 3 out of 4 games (with a win vs. the Jets sandwiched in between). And earlier in the year they beat Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City consecutively. (Bal and KC are in the playoffs and Steelers could still make it). No question, if we have to play both the Bengals and Chiefs, it will be a hard road...but this team is battle-tested and motivated...and I still believe they are the most well-rounded team in the AFC. Our secondary is depleted, no doubt, but there are many ways to win games. Josh Allen 1st and foremost, the run game and short yardage pass game (play keep away from the excellent passing teams), the defensive line being majorly disruptive, etc. I'm not automatically conceding anything to the Chiefs or Bengals. They won't be easy games, by any means, but we are still good enough to beat both of those teams.

I voted keep the bottle...but wagon127 has your answer. Don't open it for the first playoff game, save it for either an AFC Championship win (what it should have been opened for) or for a Super Bowl victory. But this time, leave it in the damn refrigerator until the game clock reads 0:00. At least we now finally know who to blame the 13 seconds fiasco on...Gugny, you darn jinx. 😁

Praying for Damar, along with all of BillsMafia and the nation. 🙏

That is a projection in your own head only. We have a top 5 defense, Stefon Diggs, a top kicker, an excellent punter, decent special teams...even if you think the rest of our team sucks (O-line, WRs, TEs, RBs, etc.), which they don't, to say they would be lucky to get a losing record (8-9) if you swapped a prime Alex Smith for Josh, seems a bit over the top to me. Obviously, they wouldn't be asking Smith to do what Josh does. The offense would be tailored to Smith and look much different. He would be more asked to manage the game. But there is nothing saying that he couldn't get us to 10 wins and a Wild Card playoff loss (like he did with KC the year before Mahomes took over). Hell, Tyrod Taylor got us to the playoffs with a much less-talented team than we have now. Plus, our defense has held 10 teams to 20 points or under, and have only allowed two teams to score more than 25. Are you telling me that Alex Smith (instead of Josh) on this team couldn't score 21 points? The current league average is 21.5 points per game. Do you really think this offense couldn't be at least average with a prime Alex Smith? To think this team falls to a 7-10 record or worse with a solid/competent (not great, but not terrible) QB...no, I'm not buying it. No question Josh pulls off miraculous plays that Smith never could, but just having a great QB doesn't automatically get you to 12, 13, 14 wins without a solid team around him. Look at the Packers this year. Josh is what makes this team elite, but they are still a good team with a lot of talented players regardless. I'm not saying there aren't positions that could or will need upgrading (O-line definitely), but this idea that it is all Josh and everyone else on the team sucks is just not rational thinking. Nor that the Bills have ignored offense to draft/bring in defensive talent. Since Beane got here, they have brought in the same number of offensive players as they have defensive players. And, at the end of last year, the offense was humming, with two almost perfect games. Yet, our defense was getting gashed by the run and couldn't get any pressure on opposing QBs. That was a very good reason to focus on improving the defensive line first and foremost in the off season. And it has made a difference (we are 4th vs. the run this year and 11th in sacks---a big improvement). You can't fix everything every off season. And all teams have holes or positions they would like to upgrade, that is not unique to the Bills. And teams are constructed differently. You can look at a team like Cincy and say, man, they have three great receivers. Why can't we have that many good receivers. But they may have sacrificed upgrading a different area on their team to get the receivers, so we would have an advantage against them in that part of the game. Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. And as a GM, you are making a lot of gambles too...not every one pays off, but if enough of them do, then you are right where the Bills are right now.

What about being happy about a win regardless of whether there were big pass plays or not. Does it really matter how they get the win? If Motor and Cook run for 200 yards again, and/or the defense plays lights out, and that means Josh only passes for 150 (with no bombs), but they win...then I'd still be very happy. Whereas I feel like you would come on here and say, yes, I'm happy about the win, but our team sucks, there's no way we're winning a Super Bowl like this, etc. Just get the W any way you can. That's the NFL. No one gets anything for style points.

"Our team would suck without Josh and Diggs." But you know what? The Chiefs would suck without Mahomes and Kelce, the Bengals would suck without Burrow and Chase, the Eagles would suck without Hurts and Brown (see yesterday's game), etc., etc. "Did you see the TB game yesterday? Brady's WRs are just running free all the time. every other Qb has it easier than Josh." Yet Josh has 8 more TD passes than Brady on the year, despite playing one game less. And sure, Brady currently has 581 passing yards more than Josh, but that is with one more game (Josh will probably close that gap to about 300 yards tonight) and on 180 attempts more than Josh. Why does he have so many more attempts? Because at 8-8, TB has been behind/losing a lot more than the Bills this year and had to throw a lot at the end of games (see yesterday's game). And you're using a QB in his first start ever (Stidham) on a 6-10 team to explain why the Bills suck? With no context. There was no film on this guy, his team probably rallied around him, did the Niners have injuries on their defense, etc.? Do you really think Stidham would be able to do that consistently when Carr couldn't with that team? Dude, you have been making this same post every week. And yes, you are definitely cherry picking. If you paid as much attention to other teams as you do the Bills, you would see drops, interceptions, bad throws by QBs, lots of 3 and outs and punts, etc. Josh has 13 INTs. There are 5 QBs with the same or more INTs. Mahomes and Burrow both have 12 INTs (only one less than Josh). I mean, what if the Bills were down 4 points to the 4-12 Broncos in the 4th quarter (Chiefs yesterday), what if the Bills were down 14 points in the 4th quarter to the 6-10 Panthers (TB yesterday), how about losing by 24 to the 7-8 Packers (Vikings yesterday), down by 3 points to the 6-10 Raiders in the last minutes of the game and then needing OT to beat them (SF yesterday), or losing by 10 to the 7-9 Saints (Eagles---if our QB didn't play)...you and this board would be totally imploding with any of those scenarios. Yet, since those are not your teams, you just look at final score and stats and highlights, and say look everyone else is better than we are. But if you were actually a fan of those teams, you would be going through the same roller-coaster ride that you are as a Bills fan. I swear, some of you would be complaining right up to the last second of a Super Bowl victory. And fine, then you get to celebrate, but you know what, you will have missed a hell of a lot of fun along the way. It is the journey, not the destination my friend. In the offseason we can discuss how to fix the O-line and WRs, etc., but there isn't anything to be done about it right now. This is the 2022 Buffalo Bills team, like it or not. Why not root for the guys and enjoy their victories, rather than whine and moan that every other team is better than we are and our players suck. Which isn't actually true. With a win tonight, we would be tied for the best record in the league and be first place in our conference. Josh is a huge reason why (we all know that), but by no means has he done it alone. I have no problem discussing what is wrong with certain areas of our team or what needs to be improved, etc. But the OP's posts very rarely have any content other than "I watch other games and everyone else is better than we are. Our players suck except for Josh." It is the same post every week. That is not discussion, that is complaining. And the complaints don't even ring true because, as he said himself, he is cherry picking.

We really don't know yet how these two teams match up. They haven't played each other since 9/22/19 (3 years and 3 months ago). At that point, Josh was just starting his second year, no Diggs, McDermott starting year 3. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase were still in college and it was only Zac Taylor's 3rd game as the Bengals head man. Two totally different teams now. Not sure how much common opponents matter, as every week in the NFL is different, and teams go through ups and downs (for many reasons). But, for what's it worth, here are the common opponents this year for the Bills and Bengals: Jets: Bills lost one (17-20), and won one (20-12). Bengals won (27-12) Dolphins: Bills lost one (19-21) and won one (32-29) Bengals won (27-15) Steelers: Bills won (35-3) Bengals won one (37-30), and lost one (20-23) Ravens: Bills won (23-20) Bengals lost (9-17) Titans: Bills won (41-7) Bengals won (20-16) Patriots: Bills won (24-10) Bengals won (27-24) Browns: Bills won (31-23) Bengals lost one (13-32) and won one (27-10) Chiefs: Bills won (24-20) Bengals won (27-24) Record vs. Common Opponents: Bengals 7-3 Bills 8-2. Points for/against vs. Common Opponents: Bengals 234 pts for, 203 pts against Bills 266 pts for, 165 pts against So, again, not sure how many conclusions you can draw from that: records are similar, points for differential is 3 points per game (in the Bills favor), and points against is about a 4-point differential per game (again in the Bills favor). To be fair, I'll give the QBs a push (with a slight favor to Josh) I think the Bengals definitely do have an advantage with their WRs against our secondary. I think a huge key to this game will be our defensive line getting pressure on Burrow to hurry throws and routes. I am not worried about the Bengals run game at all. And to be honest, I don't know much about their defense. But with Josh, Diggs and co., and the improved run game, the Bills should be able to score (as they have all year). The Bengals' defense is currently 21st in the league versus the pass (the Bills are 14th), and 7th against the run (the Bills are 4th). The Bengals' defense is 9th in the league in opponent's points per game (the Bills are 2nd). The Bengals defense is 29th is sacks (Bills are 11th). Everything I seem to look at, the Bills appear to have at least a slight edge, so I do expect them to win. But, I also expect a great, close, hard fought game. And I am very interested to finally see how these two teams match up against each other, not on paper, but on the field. It may come down to which team makes the fewest mistakes. Or, if they both play mistake free, then who has that one or two big plays over the other team. GO BILLS!

Of course, point differential doesn't mean anything in the long run. The OP isn't saying it is going to guarantee us a Super Bowl. But when so many fans keep saying that we can't beat teams like KC and Cincy the way we are playing, yet we have the best point differential in the league and currently have played the third most difficult schedule in the league (just a hair behind Miami and the Jets), well, it does make a good case that those fans may be overreacting. To be fair, Cincy has currently played the 5th toughest schedule and KC has played the 7th toughest schedule (so they haven't had a cake-walk either) and they sit 6th and 5th in point differential, respectively. But imo, it is fair for the OP to use the stat to make a case that we are just as good as KC and Cincy (or conversely, that KC and Cincy are just as bad as we are...as some posters would tell it). We all watch the Bills so closely that we see all of their warts, but too many fans seem to compare that over-scrutinizing of our team against highlight packages of other teams and seem to think that teams like KC and Cincy don't make similar mistakes (penalties, turnovers, close games vs. lower-ranked teams, etc.).

I hope so too... He could also see this as great practice, experience, exposure for a post-football broadcast career. Why not use this time to build for the future? But to have him back for the home stretch would be awesome!

Seriously, big props to that Pats fan! That couple should have been thrown out. She wasn't even sitting next to him, they were across the aisle. But she moved next to him to annoy him, and then got very aggressive and belligerent.

I lived in Boston during the '90s Super Bowl era and went to a number of games at the old Foxborough stadium. Never had a problem with Pats fans back then---but the Patriots didn't really have that many diehard fans at that time, their team was consistently bad, and they had very little shot of beating the Bills of that era. I have lived in NYC since and go to the Meadowlands pretty much every year for the Bills game. And though I don't love the atmosphere of MetLife stadium (can't hold a candle to Rich/Ralph/NewEra/HighMark), I have never had a problem with Jets fans, despite me always being decked out in Bills gear and cheering for my team. Of course, there is some good-natured ribbing and banter, but never any problems. A lot of Jets fans I know feel more kindred with the Bills than any type of bitter rivalry, I think mostly because of us both being bad for so long (prior to McBeane/Josh) and both being dominated by and hating the Patriots equally. Went to the Cleveland game in 2019. Had an extremely drunk girl in front of me first talking smack and then hitting on me, despite probably being 15-20 years my junior (I did say she was very drunk 😊). And apparently I have a tendency to call out our player's names during the game after good plays: "Yes, Stefon." "Nice tackle Matt." "C'mon Tyler!" etc. Everything seemed fine until the Bills took the lead in the 4th quarter, when the guy next to me said, "If you call out one more player's name, I'm gonna kill you." Then his friend leaned over and said, "How do you even know all of their names, anyhow?" My answer, "I'm a Bills fan!" Cleveland went on to win the game, so even though I didn't stop cheering for our guys, I did avoid being killed by the man next to me.

I forgot that they were taken back-to-back. Thought I would look up their stats out of curiosity. Of course, Montgomery has been Chicago's feature back since mid-way thru his rookie year, whereas Singletary has never truly been a feature back (due to splitting time with other backs and our passing game of course---but then the Bills have been a better overall offense than Chicago over that period as well). And it appears that over that span (4 years), Montgomery has missed 6 games and Devin 4 games (so they have both been pretty sturdy/available). Montgomery: 886 carries, 3,502 rush yds, 4.0 Avg, 26 TDs, 149 recs, 8.1 Avg, 1,206 receiving yds, 4 TDs Singletary: 653 carries, 3,016 rush yds, 4.6 Avg, 15 TDs, 142 recs, 6.7 Avg, 949 receiving yds, 4 TDs Montgomery has more TDs (30 to 19), but obviously with more opportunities (as the Bills had Josh, Gore, and Moss running a lot of the goal-line carries). Devin has a better rushing average, while Montgomery has a better receiving average. If you prorated Devin's rushing average to the same number of carries as Montgomery has had, then Motor would have 4,088 rushing yards. Not trying to say one is better than the other...was just curious since they were drafted back-to-back. But, personally, kind of glad we have Devin.

NFL fans are funny. There were lots of people who thought Tua, Herbert, and Fields should have gotten a pro bowl nod. OK. But then there were actually multiple replies saying that Mac Jones got robbed not getting voted to the Pro Bowl. And I even saw one saying Zac Wilson should be in. Am I mistaken, or did both of those QBs get benched this season. How could you really think that guys getting benched by their own teams deserve the Pro Bowl over players like Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert. Even saw one calling for Brock Purdy...the guy has played what 3 games? Either people were trying to be funny, or NFL fans really have distorted views of their own teams/players.

What would this board be like if the Bills: Lost to 5-8 Jax in OT (Dallas) Needed OT to beat the 1-11-1 Houston Texans (Chiefs) Lost by 10 to the 5-8 Browns (Balt) Only beat the 3-10 Bears by 5 points (Philly) Needed OT to beat the 4-8-1 Colts by 3 (Minn) Now how is it again that we can't beat the other top teams in the league? That is 5 of the other 7 teams with the best records in the league (and Cinci is currently down by 3 to the 6-7 Bucs). Perspective is always a good thing.

I'm not sure why fans don't see that it was the right move. We watched Belichick win games against us like that for 20 years (managing the clock at the end of a game). We have also seen the Bills do this successfully a few times now over the last few years. It is textbook and absolutely the best way to assure a victory. And not sure if anyone has mentioned it in other threads today, but Devin had a great game last night. Stat-wise it doesn't look like that much (70 yds from scrimmage, no TDs), but he was laying the lumber to the Dolphins at the end of his runs and in the blocking game (setting a tone)---he knocked a Miami pass rusher to his ass on one play---and then the unselfish play to help seal the game. Motor was ballin' last night.

Great Win!!! For anyone complaining about anything...this type of game is exactly why we all love football guys and gals. It was like a classic, old Kelly/Marino duel. Saturday night, at home, playoff-like atmosphere, amazing plays by Allen, the snow coming down in the 4th quarter, the comeback, last second FG to win the game, Bass and Steph belly sliding on the snowy field. Just enjoy it everyone! At this time of year, especially against division rivals, any win is a good win. And the Dolphins are a legit team. No question we have to clean up the mistakes...penalties, tackling, turnovers, the roughing the kicker. I mean, we gift-wrapped the Dolphins 10 points in the third quarter on miscues. Would have been a different game without those mistakes. But no complaining for me tonight. Great game! Great team win! And not only is Santa real (bringing us some Christmas snow in the 4th quarter), but so is Superman...and his name is Josh Allen. Go Bills!!!!!

"Where would you rather be than right here, right now." "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us!" SQUISH THE FISH! LET'S GO BUFFALO!!!!!!!!!

Because "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us!"

Let's finally put the OBJ thing to bed. He's not playing this year, he's getting older, two ACLs in the same knee, does NOT have Bills DNA. If we have to wait for next year anyhow, then I would rather have an early draft pick WR and/or a younger FA. And people seem to have short memories. At the end of last year, our offense was absolutely humming, and our defense (though ranked first) was vulnerable to being run up the middle, we lacked in the pass rush department, fans had been saying for two years that we needed to upgrade Levi's position, and Tre was now out with an ACL. It made total sense to draft corners and upgrade the defensive line via free agency as our #1 priority. And though the secondary has been a bit of a mess this year with the injuries (and rookies), I don't think that anyone can say that the defensive line improvements haven't made a significant difference. This idea that Beane and McDermott only care about improving the defense and ignore the offense just isn't true (in a post a while back I showed that they have brought in the same number of offensive and defensive players since they've been here, both in the draft and free agency). You can't solve every single problem every off season. You go for your biggest needs. Not every plan worked, but I understand why they made the choices that they did. I know a lot of people were calling for a wide receiver in the off season (and at this moment they have plenty of info to back up their stance). But, after hearing a lot of the interviews since Cole's return, etc. I'm wondering if losing Cole hasn't been our biggest issue on offense, not that Gabe isn't a good #2, Knox sucks, McKenzie sucks, etc. I'm not a huge X's and O's guy either, so this is just my opinion based on what has been said. The offense was spectacular at the end of last year and the only major piece we lost was Cole. So, they bring in Crowder (another excellent slot player) to take the role, with McKenzie mixed in. McKenzie is good against man coverage because of his speed. I think that Gabe's best skills are against man coverage as well, because of his size and speed. Once Crowder went down, teams could go to zone coverage almost exclusively against us, because our only true zone beater was Diggs. And then you just double Diggs. Now you can say that Crowder wouldn't have been the answer because he didn't have a great start to the season, but he has been one of the better slots in the league for a while and I believe he would have adapted to our system and Josh's arm with more reps/time and been very good for us. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Also, I don't think people realize how much (at least early in the season) that Gabe was also getting double coverage. Teams weren't worried about the slot. Defenses were trying to take away our big chunk plays. To beat that, you need to methodically move the chains using the slot and your RBs/TEs. I think defenses know that is not Josh's strength, and secondly, they weren't worried as much about those players tearing them up. This is exactly what happened during our offensive slump last year, but Josh was able to overcome it by learning to play Brady-like. But he had Cole last year (Welker, Edelman)...and it worked. Apparently McKenzie just isn't good at finding that opening in the zone, and maybe Josh doesn't trust him to get open or hang on to the ball, etc. So, it isn't working this year. (That doesn't mean McKenzie sucks, it's just not his skill set to beat zone in the slot. But if they are playing man, he can be a weapon. He was meant to be used when his strengths gave the Bills an advantage, not be playing there full time). Another way they tried to address the teams playing zone coverage was by signing McKissic...we all know what happened there. So, they draft Cook. And while he has flashed, and I believe he will be a good player for us going forward, he is still a rookie who is learning. His game is still lacking in the knowledge/blocking areas, so he has to be used sparingly. Maybe they can eventually work Hines into that role they were envisioning and with Cole's/Crowder's return, finally have the offense that they envisioned at the start of the year. And to the OP, I don't think Gabe's production has/had anything to do with Sanders or a vet presence in front of him, etc. Sanders barely played the second half of last year (because of the injury and Gabe playing well), and he wasn't more productive than Gabe. In fact everyone was saying Gabe should be the starter. If we can start pulling teams out of zone, I guarantee our wide receivers are all going to look better. Or if not, then Josh can get back to picking them apart with short throws over the middle of the field. I'm hoping that Cole still has enough and/or the return of Crowder will solve a lot of these issues. As it is, we are still the second best offense in the league right now...fixing the slot may just push us over the top again. It may not be that our players all of a sudden suck, just that they have not been able to be used to their strengths because there was a missing element to our offense. Of course, they have to clean up the drops too for it to work, but I think they will. Gabe never had drop issues before, I think he'll pull out of it. And McKenzie now won't be asked to make the types of plays he has been missing. It may be an overly-optimistic view to some, but maybe, just maybe, over the next few weeks our offense finally finds it's stride again. Having said all of that, I do agree that addressing the offensive line and drafting a young WR this offseason will be major priorities.

You're right. I just went thru the highlight video and some photos from the game and it appears that Miami did not use AC benches, just cooling fans.