BillsVet

It's hard to understand his behavior and how much of it was just immaturity and what was mental health related. Something was wrong, but it's hard to pinpoint what. Major mental illness, if this was the case, can affect someone more than most people could ever know. I hope that in the US we can begin tackling mental illness by encouraging people to talk about it. Then get them the right treatment so they can achieve some balance in their lives. The bottom line is this is a tragic loss, both for the family he leaves behind and for a life cut short.

No, they traded with TB from 12 to 7 for Allen. They traded with BAL from 22 to 16 for Edmunds.

Defensive rankings would be better if this were 30+ years ago when the rules suited that side of the ball. Now, it's practically irrelevant. New England was ranked near the bottom last year in defense among many statistical categories and made it to the Super Bowl. KC this year can't stop anyone and they're perhaps the best team in the AFC.

No argument there and that's really the end goal for this lost season. They have to know what they're working with re: Allen.

No disagreement there. My point is somehow he manages to find a way to win games when he needs it most. That's not to say there aren't examples which go the opposite way.

Coach McD has a strange tendency to win games at crucial junctures of his tenure when criticism hits a high point. Three examples immediately come to mind in his 26 games coached: Last season in Week 12, after 3 straight losses (and 2 blow outs), McD beats Kansas City on the road to put Buffalo over .500. This year, after 2 blow outs to start the season, Buffalo goes to Minnesota and convincingly took down a Vikings team that some talked about as a SB favorite. And now, with their 4th starting QB of the season (who was a street FA signing) an anemic offense, and having lost their last 4 games, the Bills beat go to NY and beat the Jets by 31 points. In each game, I cannot imagine most fans expected a win, particularly considering these were road games. Nor do I believe this team is turning a corner all of a sudden. I'm merely stating that he gets wins when criticism mounts and I'll give credit where credit is due.

Great point. I'll take it a step further and look at his philosophy and how it impacts personnel acquisition and strategy. They've used a bunch of resources on the defensive side of the ball these first 2 seasons to switch to his scheme and yes, improve the talent there. My issue is how much power does Beane have to look at McD and tell him we've got to go offense and he needs to make due on defense? Does Beane have that authority and if not, then we're trusting that the HC acquiesces to the demands a modern game feature more offensive talent than he believes is necessary. That's my question: Does the HC appreciate offense as much as the new NFL demands it? Or, will he revert to what he knows best and keep trying to win games the 1985 method of better defense, running the ball, and throwing less? We don't know after 2 off-seasons.

All part of the process.

I've always thought it funny that with all the attempts to institute parity, there are still the have's and have-nots. You give teams like Cleveland and Buffalo perennial top picks, as much salary cap space as the big market teams and they've largely wasted those resources. No matter how much equality the league wants to establish, there will always be the teams which win consistently. And you'll always have the teams which don't. To me, that comes down to bad management.

It is, but conspiracy theories attract the proverbial moths to the flame. The refs being bought out, McBeane tanking in year 2, etc. I can't believe people actually think these ideas are real. The league demands teams who can be flexible and make changes when necessary. Teams that don't are left behind, especially those who hire rigid management that wants to live in the past. Belichick is a prime example of someone who changed and sure, he's got Brady, but his teams aren't ordered to defense like they were. There's a lot of bad coaches and GMs out there teams are hiring. Finding a good combination is incredibly hard, but the teams who can do it AND find a QB are the ones succeeding.

It can't possibly be a team having bad management who make bad decisions and only continue the mediocre type football. Nah, it's the league "fixing" things. Still can't understand why conspiracy theories are so popular.

I bet LaCanfora is still on speed dial if something goes wrong.

Yep. This off-season is setting up as similar of what happened during Buddy's GM tenure. A 4-12 in 2010 and then 6-10 the following year prompted the spending during the 2012 off-season on Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. Anyone who's failed to deliver in the first two years probably considers all assets at their disposal, and that would include cap room. It used to be some fans praised the late Wilson era teams for saving cap space, but that does nothing. Then again, using it poorly gets you saddled with bad contracts. I would hope Beane and his people identify some cost-effective but quality players who'll instantly improve this roster. That is, if they choose to use UFA and not fall back on the draft expecting that their young players. The purge they've made these past 2 off-seasons better lead to something.

I thought I'd seen everything on this board the past 10+ years, but the idea that this was the plan remains the most unbelievable narrative I've ever observed. It is amazing how some people can make the stretch that being a statistically top 5 worst offense in the past 40 years (likely worst when factoring in rules, style of play) is beyond the pale. My theory is many fans seek to justify even the lowest quality of team because they derive their identity from fan hood. To criticize the team is to criticize oneself, and that's out of the question for most. Therefore, the horrible level of play in year 2 of the latest rebuild is understandable. The gymnastic movement it requires to arrive at this conclusion is absolutely incredible. McCoach isn't going to get fired anytime soon, but there's no way he and Beane "planned" to be this bad and headed toward a 2-3 win season in year 2. Why? Because it only makes year 3 more do or die. If they went 7-9 this year perhaps I could understand setting up for year 3. Instead, they'll be even more under pressure to win. I doubt they anticipated that scenario.

Please do better criticizing.

No greater homer exists on all of TBD. None. Miss on potentially 2 franchise QBs in 2017? Nope, not Coach McD's fault.

The cap space they should have isn't a bad thing, but I think you're correct here in that it won't be the solution to most of the team's problems. And I'm not enamored with the offensive draft prospects in 2019, so it could very well be 2 years before they're playoff caliber. McCoach is saying the right things, specifically his comments yesterday on WGR about high scoring teams and their success. Whether he matches personnel decisions and organizational strategy to these comments is another thing. He's a Jim Johnson guy and has grown up in the defensive world, so expecting him over one off-season to embrace offense would be surprising to me. He's going to prioritize defense no matter what and that comes at the expense of developing a modern offense.

If Super Bowls were won based on moral victories, the Bills would be the New England Patriots of this century.

Celebrating street free agent signings. This is where we are now.

So basically, out-execute the opponent? Besides, I'm not clear what Daboll's system is or whether McCoach understands that side of the ball.

Even with all this cap room, McBeane are build through the draft types who focus on getting their guys. In UFA they're looking for certain types (former Panthers, or less heralded team first guys) and not big name types. At the same time, I could see them going full Buddy Nix circa 2012 when they realize their jobs are on the line if the team doesn't significantly improve. They certainly won't make the same mistake former NYJ GM John Idzik did saving all that cap room in a do or die season. If McBeane want the instant results it'll require wading into the dark waters of potentially bad UFA contracts and therefore going outside "the process." Yet, if they don't spend big, it'll mean being less than a playoff team and probably cost them their jobs. I still don't know how they'll spend these cap dollars, but I'm willing to bet most of it won't be on the defensive side.

I was high on McD for awhile, but over time it became clear (like his predecessors) that he was going to rebuild the old-fashioned way. Everyone here should know by now that having the best defense in the league with a mediocre offense gets you to maybe 7 wins per. What remains indefensible is McD is 10-15 years behind the curve and shows no sign of being flexible. I highly doubt he's going to internally decide that they're changing strategy to being a downfield passing team in the way Belichick did around 2006. I remember seeing the Patriots lose to Indianapolis that year with garbage receivers in the AFC Championship game, and from that point forward BB has prioritized offense. His defenses aren't all that special and IIRC, last year they finished in the bottom quarter of the league in most metrics. I don't get the sense McD ever will change his stripes the way NE did. He's going to keep trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with the results to follow.

Seattle Seahawks. Carroll was hired as HC and he essentially hired John Schneider to be GM. While it's collaborative, Carroll has the control over personnel.

I looked at 20 seasons' worth (1999-2018) of HC hires and there were more coaches than I thought who received 2nd HC jobs. It's an incomplete list, but I saw 37 guys hired in those years who at some point had 1 or more HC jobs. Of that group, I'd classify only a few (Andy Reid, Vermeil, Coughlin, Kubiak, and Carroll) having similar or more success in second or later gigs than their first. Roughly put, that's about 85% that didn't improve in their second jobs. Also found it noteworthy that during this time there were 137 HC hires made, so on average 7 teams are changing HCs every year. At this point, I'd expect to see significant improvement in year 3 or it's on to someone else. Turnover is not bad when something shows no sign of improving.

Levy was last HC in KC more than 35 years ago. Point is, the Bills are not trending, after 2 offseasons and 24 games toward being playoff caliber. Outside of Tom Coughlin I can't think of one. With NFL HCs, if they flame out in their first job it's not typical they'll figure things out in the second. That is, if they get a second chance because most don't.