BillsVet

The blitz I'll always remember from McD came at the end of the Broncos home game last season and the subsequent FG. Didn't go quite as well. McD's feel for the game on defense leaves something to be desired. On the other side, he certainly has never fully embraced a modern passing game, nor allowed them to develop one these last few seasons.

It's funny that people every off-season point to the inevitable salary cap increase without understanding the league growing revenue is mostly what permits this. Whether that's television, merchandise, whatever...yeah, it's contingent on growing the game. Continuous improvement seems like a concept lost to some who want things to remain the same. I get it that losing a home game stinks, but then again, part of that benefit might be the ability to fit another UFA under the cap when the ceiling goes up 5M.

It's not cost-effective to maintain with significant investment an entire defensive unit. Those Seattle teams had so many high picks, UFAs, and contract extensions, yet only offered a 5 year window even with Russell Wilson, who admittedly was not easy to scheme an offense with. Every year we discuss addressing what was weak the previous season and this off-season is no different. Secondary, DL, perhaps LB's. Then, at playoff time the offense is scrambling to score points in the Divisional Round and later as the defense struggles. Their solution in 2024 was to slow the offense down to keep the defense off the field which worked well through the Wild Card Round matchup. Patching holes isn't cutting it anymore and they need a course correction in overall strategy. I doubt it'll happen, but they did it their way and came up short again. I'd also consider that their franchise QB is coming up for a contract after 2025 and keeping him is an absolute necessity.

McBeane running it back has proven insufficient multiple times over and that includes the schemes they run on both side along with personnel decisions. The mentality of doing what got you to the final game and not changing is infecting the entire organization. There's not been a serious evaluation of the football side since McD brought Beane in 8 years ago. Lot of high character, lesser talented players. Safe and predictable scheme on both sides. McD might have upped his HC game in 2024, but Beane is still pursuing roster decisions with the same careful mindset he's typically had for years now. They don't need a splash move, but a series of really good moves which facilitate better play on both sides.

McBeane typically come out of off-season reviews concluding that running it back schematically with personnel additions is the best course of action. Did that in 2021, 2022, and 2023 on both sides. Safe to say the offense changed from 2023 to 2024, but the defense remains what it is. Someone posted during the season that Belichick noted on a Manning Cast this season that Buffalo's defense is relatively straightforward...just rotates around a defender into their zone coverage or something to that effect. Nor should they be overly focused on only fixing what was wrong last year. Yeah, safeties, and DL need help, but best force-multiplier is still finding a WR1 who will open up the offense, particularly if Cooper is let go. And then throwing it to that guy to make defenses cover the entire field which they didn't feature much down the stretch. It'd help the defense because Buffalo plays best when they're attacking downhill with a lead.

They drafted Josh 7 years ago. The NFL is, as all pro sports are, a what have you done for me lately league. And lately, Buffalo's top picks have been mediocre. Still haven't drafted and developed a boundary receiver during their tenure. And yet, here we are talking about WR separation...which is why Josh got battered earlier in the season and requires him being plunged into the pile multiple times a game. It's all noise until they prioritize receivers and the offense in general above the defense.

Well aside from getting concussed at least once and taking some huge hits earlier this season, yeah.

And that result only took going 4 for 6 on 4th down in the 2nd half to get close.

KC's HC at the time was Andy Reid, who has a similar degree of authority in their front office as McD does in Buffalo. Just take the L and move on.

Teams that both draft and are coached well tend to win in the post-season. Besides, who do you think drafted Kelce, Jones, and Mahomes? Reid's been there since 2013 and Veach since 2017 as GM and before that as a personnel assistant.

Ever wonder why one organization maintains a personnel/talent advantage AND a coaching one as demonstrated on Sunday? Maybe KC's management is just better, focuses on continual improvement while Buffalo just keeps doing the same things that don't work by this point in the playoffs?

The offensive skilled talent at WR and TE...i.e. the main passing targets...are insufficient. This is exemplified when Mack Hollins is your leading receiver in the AFC Championship game. Without an offense capable of hanging 35-40 on a team, it puts added pressure on and narrows the margin of error for the defense. You can't expect to limit KC to less than 21 paired with an offense that consumes the TOP to a 28-21 type win. It's not a winning formula.

It's still amazing that a veteran GM and HC went into the season believing in that WR group. And, that those personnel in that offensive scheme would succeed with support from Kincaid and Knox. That experiment lasted 5 games, had Josh injured, and forced the Cooper trade. Incredibly, they've never developed a true WR1 or WR2 in 8 off-seasons and have now had to trade for 2 veterans to be that. And todate, their highest drafted WR is still Coleman, who they inexplicably forced into being a boundary type as a rookie. That position, from how they use it in the offense to the players they choose is emblematic of a disconnect. Particularly with a franchise QB who is expected to succeed without them. Can't come out of this off-season without significantly improving that position - even if it means going without less on DL or safety.

Yeah...talking personnel needs is ridiculous if the strategy/philosophy isn't addressed first. Because most of what I observe is McBeane doubling-down after each off-season and we wind up right back here in late January. All comes down to McCoach making a huge shift in strategy, which means putting their eggs into supporting Josh first and foremost. I doubt it'll happen though.

In a sane world, TPegs would consider the team is moving into a new stadium and whether McBeane are the ones to produce a SB win with Josh as that approaches. Or, if the playoff losses continue another shoe drops that forces TPegs to choose. Because everything that happened this year was as the HC wanted it...the coordinators and especially their version of complementary football including Josh playing as McD wanted within a balance offense. They failed the final exam and it's clear McD ain't that good of a test taker.

It's easy to just say throw more resources at those offensive positions...but this organization is poor surrounding Josh with elite WR talent either via UFA or the draft. Besides, it's not a priority on game-day either. Their passing attack seemed basic, relied on lesser (slower) players and was over-matched yesterday. Nothing short of a complete overhaul from offensive philosophy/scheme to personnel to game-planning will work. There is no easy fix to this.

Yeah it is. And because they tend to think alike we're seeing how they've plateaued. The Carolina nonsense should go out the window this off-season.

They are not, save for the Josh pick, good evaluators of offensive talent. And I think there's enough evidence to support that after 8 off-seasons. The team speed thing was glaring...again. It's going to take a major shift in philosophy to get to the SB with McD. Sadly, I don't think he'll ever revert from what he is. It's in his DNA. Beane needs to look McD in the eye and say your strategy doesn't work.

Not the only franchise that's been deep-sixed by a horrible owner, but probably the biggest. Hard to believe Jerrah's incredible run of having a yes-man for a HC since 2007. Looks like he'll make it to 20 years with this hire.

Just banish me to solitary confinement for a month to think about it Warden Norton.

Yeah, question for Sunday is does McD's game-plan follow his football philosophy or not. As in, are they going to grind it out running and safe in passing? Or, do they add other elements? For reference, Buffalo's last 4 playoff games, they've run it 57% of the time at a 4.7 YPC clip. They are throwing it 43% of the time for a 6.7 YPA. Mention that because I agree with you and suspect they'll adhere to the philosophy that got them here. I don't seem them re-inventing or significantly altering themselves the week before the AFC Championship game. Give it a rest Warden Norton.

Never fails that TSW is a thermometer of a declining culture. Start a thread hating on the "haters?" So I can say I was right and you were wrong? Go get a hobby dude. A normal discussion (minus the thin ego reflected in the above post) would talk about whether the focus on eliminating mistakes and following a conservative offensive game-plan can work for 60 minutes. Because for 30 it was excellent against Baltimore, who indeed made mistakes in that first half as Buffalo likely expected. Ironically, it was the defense who somewhat bailed out a mostly stalled 2nd half offense getting the turnover. And that's great. This type of game-plan still offers a slim margin of error and requires that all sides of the ball execute almost flawlessly. Lot harder to do at this step in the playoffs.

Who the Ravens played is precisely the point while we acknowledge their secondary was improved down the stretch. I refuse to believe Buffalo threw it 22 times because of the weather or Baltimore's improved pass D. This was more a function of Buffalo choosing to game-plan to achieve other objectives. Maybe McD wanted to wear down that defense, protect their own, and be safe with the ball. That would not be surprising given those were priorities all this past regular season. The Ravens are a very good team and no one is disputing that. Their defense was first against the run in the regular season...yet the Bills chose to run it 63% of their offensive snaps.

Ravens' last 7 regular season opponents (PIT, LAC, PHI, NYG, PIT, HOU, CLE) ranked 27th, 19th, 29th, 28th, 27th, 21st, and 22nd) in yards passing per game. H/T to someone else who noted this in another thread. Yes, they are coached well and made noticeable improvements, but they weren't top of the NFL either. In last year's Divisional Round, Kansas City scored 27 points on drives that didn't close out a half or the game. And Buffalo held the ball 37 minutes as well while winning the turnover battle. Buffalo's 2nd half consisted of 4 drives: TD, turnover on downs, punt, and the missed FG. (Cue the person who references Bass' missed FG for why they lost). The idea your opponent makes a mistake isn't a dependable strategy, no matter how much you like your defense and particularly against KC. Yesterday was a safe game plan and that's not all bad, but benefitted from Lamar's 2 turnovers, drops and bonehead plays (thanks Mark Andrews). Team needs to pick it up another notch because KC is less likely to do that. And the offense might need to bail the defense out.

Rivers was 39 years old and in his final NFL season 4 years ago in the 2020 WC game. Lamar was concussed late in the 3rd quarter the following week...in a game where neither team could do much offensively in very cold weather. And yeah, it's not all Josh...coaches gotta set up players to succeed and players need to make plays. A little context goes a long way for someone who loves to nit-pick other people.