BillsVet

Quibbling 101.

Agreed. There's a lot of talk about leadership these days, but in the NFL HC's are not coordinators and as such cannot be completely focused on X's and O's. At the HC level it's about generalship and the off-season/training camp weeks are about building a foundation for when things get difficult. You can't always out X and O your opponent. Lombardi admitted as such back in the 60s and those Packers teams were a reflection of the HC. He got them to play that way, but of course had talent. I remember seeing a picture from the sideline from behind where Lombardi's hands are clasped behind his back. And the photo was captioned about how at that point, there was nothing left to do but bank on everything done before those critical moments. I think that was in the Maraniss book. I'm not demanding McD be exactly like Lombardi, just sharing @BADOLBILZ's observation that Buffalo doesn't reflect their HC in a similar fashion. The penalties and showing up small in big games point to how he he's not reaching them. McD tried to instill "the process" as a way of winning them over, to trust in him, but that's harder to do when you're not winning. Again, it was light years ago, but I'm sure when Lombardi was winning, even the most hardened personality toward VL knew what he expected and wouldn't deviate from. Only winning can accomplish this.

2019 is long gone. Any results-oriented fan expected to see them make the playoffs last year, particularly after they started 6-2. 2020, OTOH, has been all about winning in the playoffs. Trading for Diggs, a 4th year of McBeane's roster along with the improvement of Allen means you expect post-season success. And there was a 4-0 start to boot. Plenty of teams are winning without the 4 year build up. SF was in the SB after 3 years with Shanahan/Lynch. Vrabel was in the AFC Championship in his 2nd season with a new QB. McVay was in the SB his 2nd season as a HC. Should Buffalo not be held to a similar standard? If so, losing in the WC round of the playoffs is not acceptable given the investment of draft, UFA capital and time.

Vrabel - 2 playoff wins last season. After 2 seasons as a HC. Shanahan - 2 playoff wins last season and a SB appearance. After 3 seasons as a HC. McD - 0-2 in the playoffs without advancing past the Wild Card Round after 3 seasons as a HC. One of these is not like the others.

The KC game is being quibbled over at this point and never have I expected any defense to hold a KC offense to a score or less. Bottom line is they lost and that's the point of this thread because: Buffalo comes up small in key games. It's reasonable to consider after recent games whether this team is much better than a Divisional Round participant without advancing. And this is the crux of the issue. We're going to find out where this team is against the big boys when they host Pittsburgh in 11 days.

His then lieutenant and Ravens current GM Eric DeCosta ain't bad himself. Turned down opportunities (including Buffalo) to interview for GM jobs. Beane gets the credit for Josh, but there are some positions on this team they've struggled. The DL has only Oliver and Epenesa (EDIT:also H. Phillips) in the rotation who aren't UFAs/inherited. The top 3 WR's are UFA/trade acquisitions. The OL has one drafted guy starting right now, and the other (who they traded up into the 2nd for) has been IR'd after a mediocre season. They're thin at LB and their 1st round pick there (whom they traded up for) is meh after 2.5 seasons. The safeties are UFAs, although McD hit with Tre (after trading out of the spot Mahomes was taken). The other CB spot has been average at best since McD arrived and they've gone through UDFAs and UFAs without much result. In sum, the WR, DE, and CB positions have depended heavily on players who weren't drafted and developed here. That's the downside of the McD mind on roster development combined with an Admin GM. Hopefully some of the personnel background guys have the voice in the room on draft day.

I've long believed that many fans derive their identity from sports teams they follow. Therefore, being critical of the team is, ipso facto, a criticism of self. And most people will never be self-critical in public, meaning you've got to defend the team, i.e. self, to the hilt. Having high expectations for either the team or self is scary because they may not be met. Therefore, shoot for a safe goal and don't risk failure. Complacency with self and team (EDIT: are) wind up being the goal.

It doesn't lend credence to your argument employing the word "if" to so many conditions.

I'm going to ah, go ahead and disagree (in Bill Lumbergh voice). KC defeated SF's excellent defense in the SB and scored 21 points in the 4th quarter to do so. They racked up 117 points in 3 playoff games last year against 3 very good or better teams. You don't out-defense elite offenses in the modern NFL many game. Defense now is about impact plays like sacks and turnovers. Teams like KC are going to score and the only way to stop them is have more possessions. Going conservative just means you reduce the score in games you'll lose. And that's what McD did on 10/19.

After the trade for Diggs and seeing Allen's improvement this season there's no way I'd accept a playoff appearance. And I don't think anyone at OBD would be satisfied with that either. Nor is winning the division without at least 1 playoff win exceeding expectations. OP said he's concerned about McD because after 60 games as Buffalo's HC he's seen some trends. For me, the game-plan against KC at home 6 weeks ago was indicative of who McD is. It was weak, unimaginative and no one with a pulse believes you can win in the playoffs that way against an elite offense. If you assume Miami, LA Rams, Tennessee, KC, and Seattle make the playoffs, McD will be 6-19 career against teams in the playoffs or who later made the post-season. By contrast, he's 27-9 against non-playoff teams. The AFC is going to feature some excellent QB's in the next few years. There's Burrow, Mayfield, Watson, Mahomes, and perhaps Herbert. You can't pack it in against elite offenses and come out conservative like they did against KC.

Definitely @Coach Tuesday After the TEN and KC losses, Buffalo has really looked strong in only 1 game - the Seattle win at home. There were some defensive miscues, but the offense rescued them by keeping a healthy lead for most of the game. They're 3-1 since the KC game, but I'm not confident they can defeat a Chiefs or Steelers in the playoffs. This team is certainly better than the 2019 Bills, but the goal is to reach and win at least 1 playoff game. Especially given that NE isn't coming back and Buffalo made the roster investments and have a much improved Allen.

He's not getting hurt going to the refrigerator late at night. Nor in passing downs when in coverage. 225 LBs don't hold up well in the NFL for very long. He's a good player in some respects, but missing 10 games in 3 years isn't typically something players avoid into mid-career.

I threw a football in a small basement and almost destroyed my friend's stereo. But that was in my younger days. Now I just sit their non-plussed when Buffalo loses in heartbreaking fashion...such as the Hail Murray throw.

Who schemes a TE to block a DE like Bosa? That said, there were other OL who did a poor job and in one case no one even put a hand on Bosa.

Klein is a strictly a Sam and Milano a Will. In passing downs Klein is a liability and on running downs Milano obviously is.

Complete football teams do not necessarily win Super Bowls. The 2015 Broncos are a fine example, with a QB in his final season and clearly a shell of what he used to be. They had, for that season, an outstanding defense. On the flip side there's the 2018 Chiefs who were an offside away from a trip to the Big Game. That team was porous on defense, but had the NFL MVP throwing passes to top skill players. I would like someone to, for once, point out a dominant defense that remained together for more than 4 years. The reason none exist is because keeping a defensive unit intact is far more difficult than finding the QB who is a force multiplier of talent around them. If Pete Carroll and John Schneider couldn't do it, how would McBeane? Problem is, good defenders want to get paid after their rookie deal and that means you've got to mine talent later in the draft almost every year Already in this thread I've been told the draft is a crapshoot, so it stands to reason leaning on late round picks is just that. Even McD and Beane aren't finding long term starters in the 4th round or later every year. They, like most GM's, are finding it hard to do so in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. If retaining a solid defense were straightforward and done through "Drafting them and cherry pick(ing) the exceptional talents" Buffalo would be a top 10 defense 4 years into the McD regime. But they're not. So keep loading up on offense and riding Josh Allen. We've seen the strategy on defense doesn't work with McD making decisions. Go back to last year's WC game.

I'd debate you about the assertion of "every GM" but I'm confident it would go unabated through both ear holes. Have a nice day. I've been told for several years now how the draft is a total crapshoot so as to deflect from the Bills missing on players. Never gets old. The second point was made in reference to Mahomes just days ago. Buffalo has a major need at a position, eschews the player being debated, chooses a lesser player at perhaps a less important position, and fans 1-3 years later defend it with the "he wouldn't have developed the same in Buffalo."

Fan deflection mode. Buffalo had a first round grade on a tweener and moved up that year to grab him. Teams that more readily prioritize guards, safeties, linebackers, DT's, and RBs (as Buffalo has) are left behind quickly in the modern NFL. And it wasn't like Metcalf's abilities were unknown. You take a WR with that skill set based on potential before you select the plodding guards who might have some potential because not all positions are valued the same. Case in point: How many 6'4 230# who run 4.4s are there versus tweener OL types with average movement ability? Re Ford: Not all his fault the injury occurred, but he's been hurt with a torn labrum last year and now a tear in the meniscus. That, combined it unclear where he plays doesn't bode well for his long term future.

Organizational front office dynamics in early 2017 were extremely odd. But that was a result of the Pegula's never quite understanding how to time hires. For example, when the new owners came on scene in 2014 they had every opportunity to get it right and failed. Carrying Whaley over and having the same plans with Marrone maintained the dysfunction. The answer would have been to hire a GM and a HC after their first season (2015) and move from there. Yet, they allowed Dugout Doug and Wrex to co-exist was one of the biggest mistakes they made, leading to the need to hire someone strong in McD. Obviously it's settled down with McD paired with his guy Beane. I wish it wouldn't have taken them 2+ years to figure out people like Brandon and Whaley were leading them down a dark path.

Reading Dunne's article reminds me of the revisionist history many writers pawn off on fans when something else works. Such as, Gregggggg telling people he would have drafted Brees in 2001. Also not surprising that Whaley and Monos are sources, both of whom are out of the NFL and don't seem destined to return. It's all about performing an image makeover and another reason why the media's angle is more attuned to helping people around the league than doing real journalism. Pegula, Whaley, and Monos are the heroes for liking Mahomes. OTOH, McD is the goat for taking the less risky path by trading down and then going full Corleone and whacking almost the entire front office.

We'll never know how much McD's desire to win now inhibited their ability to win later. I think his "process" was all about having a top defense from the beginning and playing Jauron-ball to be reasonably competitive. That method didn't require a young QB and it's why they deferred on the QB decision until the following season. Which meant needing to spend another season plus developing that guy.

Except not all snaps are the same. It's a lot different lining up when it's 1st and 10 versus 3rd and 12 or 3rd and 2.

If he follows along Alexander's career track, we should see Epenesa become that sort of player by the year 2029.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics. You get bonus points in your "argument" for telling me who said that.

In 8 games Epenesa has participated in 110 snaps or 16% of those in games he's played. Has 2 TFL and 2 QB hits: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EpenAJ00.htm I'm not seeing what you're seeing.