finn

No joke. This season may need an asterisk by the time it's over.

I want to disagree, but the evidence is against me. They keep losing games they should win, or at least I think they should win. That's every game except the Bucs game, which I had rated as a toss up. So maybe I need to adjust my expectations. They're out of whack because I see a terrific team in all respects except head coach (and only his coward fourth down calls) and O-line. Otherwise, they're a Super Bowl team.

Want to fix the ref problem? Insert an undercover operative and wait for him to be approached. How many people will turn down $50k to throw a flag or two (or not throw one)? And how many would squeal if they were shown a photo of their kids? It's not paranoia, and it's not a conspiracy. It's money, and human nature.

Yeah, like last year. It's not like there was a Pro Bowl-caliber center/guard available in the second round. Oh, wait.

McDermott has a stud for a quarterback, but he really doesn't want one. He's frustrated by all this passing. It takes away his opportunities to punt and kick field goals so the defense can get back on the field. He wants excellence on defense and, ideally, mediocrity on offense.

The Bills are 0-5 in one-score games, so McDermott's decisions on fourth down are worth looking at, especially after his highly questionable calls in the championship game last year. Sunday, once again facing a high-powered offense, the Bills had a fourth and two on the three-yard line, down 10-0, and he kicks a field goal. You can challenge his other calls--like punting at midfield just before halftime down 24-10--but I find that earlier decision galling. He demands "toughness" and praises "guts" but he shows neither himself. When it's crunch time for him, he flinches. I give him credit for building a winning culture. But he hasn't shown the courage he demands of his players. In the final analysis, he's just not good enough.

I missed the whole comeback. Anyone want to give me a one sentence summary?

I'm almost ready for a rebuild. D-line, O-line, RBs... The list goes on. Meanwhile, we're squandering our excellent safeties, QB and receivers.

Daboll: Breida will be our savior. Put the game in the hands of Breida.

How would you know unless Brady plays behind our high school line and Allen plays behind their All Pro line?

Right. It goes back to the coaches. We blame Beane, rightfully, for overestimating Ford, Mongo, Boettger, and Williams, but he didn't make his decisions in a vacuum. I'm sure Bobby Johnson, Daboll and McDermott assured him that all was well with the O-line. And, as you say, the coaches should have no illusions that they have a junior varsity squad on their hands.

You may not have seen the All-22 from the Athletic. It shows what Moss was seeing, which was a wide open lane-really a highway--in front and to his right. Then Morse got tossed aside like a doll and the DT was in Moss' face. So it wasn't the play call, and it wasn't Moss. Once again, it was the Oline. It really isn't much of an exaggeration to claim that this would be the best team in the league except for the line, which rises to mediocrity only on its very best days.

McDermott will love that.

Help me out here. What's up with the pessimism? We finally have everyone back on the offensive line, and pretty much everyone is healthy. White being out is big, but he isn't the only reason the defense has been one of the best in the league. Yet people are full of doom and gloom. Why? The Pats game was a complete anomaly because of the weather; against the Colts, we were down Star, Edwards, Mongo and Brown. We lost to the Jags, but the Bucs lost to Washington; stuff happens. The Bills are pissed and hungry. I'm totally looking forward to this game. It's going to be a real shootout that will show a changing of the guard from Brady to Allen.

I agree, if you mean that McDermott wants a power-running, ball-control offense and a run-stuffing defense. A Belichick team, in other words. Instead, he has a thoroughbred for a QB, a mongrel mix of power- and finesse blockers up front, two backup-quality running backs, and a bend-don't break defense. So he has a choice: Play to the strengths of his team, or force a square peg into a round hole? Sounds like he's planning on the latter, no matter what the consequences. I give him high marks for building a winning culture here, but he lacks imagination and flexibility of mind. We saw that in the championship game last year when he elected to kick field goals against a high-scoring offense that was dominating his team. And he might have been behind the decision to take Monday's game out of the hands of his MVP quarterback and put it into the hands of Breida, Moss and Singletary. I'm not calling for him to be replaced, but he doesn't have the team he wants, and this team doesn't have the head coach it needs.

I agree. They should just enjoy themselves for a change. McDermott must be the most grim head coach in the league, after Darth Vader in Foxboro. Imagine him at a party, clapping by himself in the corner.

Such negativity! You don't have to be a homer to see the Bills will win, even handily. They easily could have won the Pats game--and every other game they lost, including the Colts game. And they dominated the ones they won. The wheels are not coming off, and they're not a mediocre team. They're an excellent team, from top to bottom, with the glaring exception of the O-line. And even that is looking up with the return of Mongo and Brown and Dawkins' play improving with his health. As for the Bucs, the Bills were built for this kind of team, as everyone keeps saying. The Bills win convincingly, and they go on to run the table. The nabobs of negativism here are going to feel pretty foolish in January.

Oh, they'll win for sure. In fact, they'll win by a healthy margin. This is a peculiar year. The impact of COVID has been underestimated by most observers. All their losses, except maybe yesterday's, can be attributed to COVID-related absences and performances, especially Dawkins and Brown. I think that's why McDermott is so frustrated. But they may have finally turned a corner. I think they win the game yesterday in normal weather conditions. Prediction: They run the table. Caveats: IF COVID doesn't decimate the lineup going forward; and IF McDermott doesn't lose the team with his undisciplined tantrums (e.g., squabbling with Daboll and throwing McKittrick under the bus).

True. The truth is, this kind of experience is what kickers need to become great.

The best of this board is pretty impressive, and the consensus views are quite sound. If the Bills coaching staff and front office read it regularly, they would profit. For example, this board was screaming bloody murder when Beane passed on drafting a guard and cornerback.

Agreed, except it should be OG, OG, OG, OG and OG. Or maybe trade the entire draft and the entire draft next year for the best guard in the draft. Wake up, Beane. Ford and Boettger cost us four games pretty much all by themselves.

I wouldn't cut Breida yet. But Moss... not sure what's happened to him. At this point, I would bench him for Antonio Williams, who runs with energy and determination. Moss seems slow and uninstintive. But, yes, please cut Sweeney. He's a poor blocker from what I've seen and a poor pass catcher.

In the spirit of "What now?" you have to just hope that Dawkins returns to form, Feliciano is at least adequate, and Dawkins does ok a guard. The reserves just aren't playoff quality.

I'm guessing the McDermott is profoundly frustrated by the COVID situation. Dawkins hasn't been right since he was sick, Brown missed three games, Star missed another and now Klein missed one. In all cases, the players were badly needed. It's like he's been playing with a handicap all year long. Worse, he likely saw it coming when so many players were being coy about getting vaxxed. He's not dealing with his frustration very well. Even now, this team could go all the way, but he's throwing a hissy fit, not helpful at all. What happened to "trust the process," Sean?

The benching I don't mind, but the comment about not trusting them is petty, self-indulgent and destructive. The players won't like that. Will he say anything about Knox or Breida? If not, why not? He also threw Daboll under the bus after the game and refused to credit Belichick. In other words, everyone is to blame except him.