BillsVet

No doubt the Saints are a much more balanced team running the ball with Ingram and Kamara. That said, the Bills aren't really a balanced offense. Including the half he played in LA, Tyrod is averaging 28 attempts for about 185 yards per game in 2017. Compare that to about the same number of attempts in 2015, but 30 yards more passing per game. (EDIT: TT was averaging about 8 yards per attempt in 2015. Now he's at about 6.5. I don't put that on Dennison, but teams taking away the deep sideline pass TT was attempting and completing). It's hard to watch other teams throwing the ball down-field and Buffalo not having done that in years. It doesn't guarantee wins, but it's more entertaining football. Yet, in a ball control grind it out type offense, we're not going to see it with this QB. Buffalo is now tied with NE and the Chargers for 5th with a +7 in turnover differential. http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/givetake Interesting to see Baltimore and Kansas City ahead of the Bills.

And predictably that is what this thread has devolved into. None of it takes away that Buffalo is an 8-6 team with 2 road games needing to win at least 1 and get help to make it as a 6 seed. Sure, a lot can change in the final 2 weeks, but watching this team now for 14 games I don't come away overly optimistic. The Bills are averaging 14 points scored and 14 points allowed per game over their last 4 (EDIT: in going 3-1. That's not going to continue unless their offensive production improves mightily). I would still like to see how this team improves from an 8-9 win team into a 11+ win team. That kind of leap isn't automatic, especially when key contributors are aging and you don't have many players opposing coordinators have to game plan for.

Lighten up Francis. Nice job of completely missing the point. I never said McBeane won't completely avoid UFA. They're just not going to be huge spenders there and will likely save cap room for existing players and low to moderate UFA types like Hyde, Poyer, and Haushka. It would not completely shock me to see them sign 2-3 guys in the range of those deals next March. They'll have some cap room and there's really no one from the 2013, 2014, and 2015 drafts to re-sign. it doesn't take away that this roster is lacking in play-makers and you're not going to find those types with low to moderate UFAs and rookies. This is a roster getting older (Incognito, Wood, McCoy, Alexander, and Kyle) that still is without a definite starting QB in 2018. Teams aren't winning with "the process." Because, no matter how hard the coaching staff works to prepare for game-day, it's talent that wins out. And Buffalo's is aging, quite pedestrian, and "the process" isn't going to surprise anyone next year. That is, unless McBeane find their QB of the future this April and add some pieces to the defensive front 7, the right side of the OL, and at WR.

Buffalo is not an ascending team. Sure, at 8-6 you'd like to think you've got an above average roster and coaching staff, but is this team a few players away from being an 11 or 12 win team in 2018? Probably not. Even if so, they're not suddenly adding those types with 2 1st round picks in the 20s. Because it's clear McBeane aren't big in spending in UFA. Pro Bowl voting concludes tomorrow and I can't imagine the Bills have more than 3 players who'll go. It's nice that McD talks about trusting the process, but I'd be more trusting if they had a lot more talent. Playing ball control offense aligned with good defense only gets you so far in today's NFL. No one wants to hear that, but without a true answer at QB you're probably not going to win more than 9 games a season and get in as a 5-6 seed.

McCoach likely told TPegs that he could win this year. And this is already an older team headed toward no more than a 9-7 finish in McCoach's first season. It's unlikely 2018 draft picks are going to come in and in some cases replace the departed talent and improve the team right out of the gate. A team that doesn't acknowledge they're rebuilding and tries to cushion the blow will end up rebuilding anyway. It's just might be with another regime. They don't have 2 seasons to be mediocre to average, i.e. 6-9 wins, before things need to click.

Sounds like Sammy's agent been working the phones for some good PR. A savvy thing to do in light of this down year he's having.

LOL. Reminds me of the time Jerry Burns gave a meltdown performance after a game with random f bombs and calling out players. Reporter asked him if he won the game, to which Burnsie responded, "I think we did, yeah."

Shame on Glenn for getting hurt. Didn't he know the Bills needed him? As for Groy, he isn't on the field for a reason. I'm not sure why, but he's apparently not better than Ducasse. If the Bills trade Glenn in the off-season and expect to go with Dawkins at LT with the whomever at RT, I'd like to see the salary purge lead to something. (EDIT: Then again, with this injury history, I don't see them getting much). McBeane has saved a considerable amount by letting Gilmore and Woods go to UFA, then trading Watkins and Dareus. They already having almost nothing on the books for a QB for next season. Perhaps they're looking to spend on the front 7, but I can't understand why we're back to them cutting costs like the Littman/Brandon days. Not to mention, the cap is increasing to 174-178M next season. If Glenn has a nagging issue and they get something for him, well, good luck. But purging all this salary better lead to something.

John Schneider and Pete Carroll work well together in Seattle. Carroll (who hired Schneider) tells the GM what kind of player he's looking for and Schneider is responsible for taking that guidance and finding options for the HC. Schneider is basically working for Carroll. Here, it's GM and HC working together without either reporting to the other. I don't think there's anything wrong with that arrangement provided both of them understand which schemes are being run and the types of players to fit them. That, and both have prioritized finding a better QB. The old way of a GM hiring the HC and telling him what players he'll have doesn't always work. The thing to keep in mind is typically HC's are fired before GM's. As far as DD is concerned, he could be here to provide subterfuge to the fan base but who knows at this point. We're going to learn plenty about what this team thinks based on their decisions this off-season.

I'm not a huge RW fan, but a few years after this PC, it was Commissioner Tagliabue pushing a new CBA on the owners. Ralph (and Mike Brown) both voted against it and were roundly criticized for having done so. I remember calling him into question myself. About 2 years later, ownership opted out of that CBA early. In this regard, RW was correct to oppose the 2006 CBA. Every public figure is evaluated, fairly or unfairly, based on how they speak. I have no doubt RW was doing the best he could back then, but octogenarian humans aren't at the top of their game. The man made some terrible decisions and some good ones. I would let it be.

That's not bad compared to the precious few who are known to post more than one hundred times a day. The GM doesn't report to the HC or vice versa. They work together and I have no doubt there are frequent personnel disagreements. GM's are planning for the future and HC's want to win now. Sometimes those perspectives run contrary to each other, like when the GM knows this team is closer to being a rebuild and the coach can't go that route because he's under the gun now to win. It sounds like Beane is trying to pull McDermott to rebuilding more and accumulating picks to do so by dealing away Glenn. Coach McD, at the trade deadline, had a 5-2 team, so I can see he was unwilling to let another quality player like Glenn out the door for a pick who doesn't help him win.

Decorum on this message board has slipped considerably in recent years. There are several quality posters who aren't here anymore because ITG's felt the need to lambaste those they didn't agree with. People posting "inside info" who are later proven wrong will be known. And if you don't believe or agree with what they're saying now, a rational discussion about why can be a good thing. Then again, an increasing amount of posters cannot debate others with why they believe the way they do.

The officials have been making terrible calls for years. It still doesn't justify players disputing calls the way they have recently.

Not complaining, just noting that McD is what he is. That said, this wasn't a "dumpster fire" of a roster that he inherited, albeit one without a true QB. Not when you consider that he had veterans who were playing decent ball: McCoy, Glenn, Incognito, Wood, Clay, K. Williams, Dareus, Hughes, Alexander, and added the pieces in the secondary. We weren't the Browns or 49ers entering 2017. McD shouldn't be learning after nearly 20 seasons in the NFL. You get the HC job because you've learned, and managing the game isn't an on the job training thing. It's actually preparation. Fans are tired of being mediocre to average for a generation. They're tired of the same old, same old. Either get good or bottom out, but staying in the middle of the road is mind-numbing and hearing the same coach speak after every game is as well. The off-season will tell the story about where this team is going, particularly their decision on the QB.

Levy hasn't coached in 20 years so he has absolutely nothing to do with this. The field position argument is great, except that upon getting the ball back with 2:25 (EDIT: at their own 35 yard line), McD needed a deep throw by his 3rd strong QB on 3rd and 6 to Deonte Thompson. And then, with 1:33 remaining, get a 21 yard run to win it. No one's kicking a FG in those conditions that's any more than a chip shot, so the idea that McD's decisions were all good is a fallacy. (EDIT: It very easily could have ended up a tie given the field) McD is what he is: another in a long line of conservative HC's who talk about team and their system (i.e. process). That's fine, but in order to win in the NFL you've got to have the talent, which Buffalo doesn't have. One can only hope they begin to fix that in the off-season. Still, having dealt away some prime players it's hard to see that replacing them with rookies will show immediate returns. This team is closer to needing a rebuild that a reload.

Why? Was it because Mr. McBobblehands Deonte Thompson caught a deep throw from Joe (3rd QB) Webb deep? Did he know that the suddenly better Indianapolis offense wouldn't score in OT like they did in the waning moments of the 4th quarter? I'd say he was more lucky than right.

So was 2006, 2010, and 2013. When McDermott wins 5 SB's and is locked into a playoff spot this year he can be mentioned alongside Belicheck. Until then, games where he can't lose or tie shouldn't feature punts on 4th and 1 with 4 minutes left in OT.

How else you gonna get to 100k posts? Actual debate? Nah.

He's a base 4-3 LDE with a slow get off that plays well against the run but doesn't generate much pass rush. Not the first guy I'd replace but if I'm running McD's defense I need more pass rush ability from a starting DE.

"Look, our drafts aren't as bad as another team" This sort of thread is almost an annual December ritual at this point. Who cares what other teams do in the draft of free agency? The Bills under previous GMs weren't exactly setting the world on fire with their drafts. Regardless, it used to be draft picks weren't evaluated until after 2-3 years in the league. Now, we need to judge a player immediately either as good or a bust.

Then why keep score?

Still, the NFL pressures franchises to build new stadiums with all the amenities despite declining attendance. Something's gotta give.

Not to mention the DTs need even better ball placement. What's the sense of checking down to a DT in the flat if the ball doesn't lead him? Those 10 yard gains will easily become 3 yard gains.

They'll need a much better pass rush and more mobile LBs if they're going to run McD's defense. The DT rotation is uninspiring. At the same time, they've already made over the secondary in their first off-season. I'd be concerned with putting more resources into the defense when, after the obvious need at QB, they could use help at guard, and WR. They'll need every one of those 5 top-100 picks.

New GMs inheriting a bad to mediocre team prioritize taking a QB because it's typically the main reason a team isn't successful. But not in Buffalo, where GMs found every reason not to take one for years. McBeane know this team is nowhere right now at QB. TT, albeit without knowing his top 2 wideouts, has proven he's not the guy. And if the HC and GM want to be around for any length of time, they'll get their guy this year. The fastest way to being a solid team is acquiring the QB and refusing to take one or taking one out of sheer need isn't the way to do it.